Prosecutors in New Mexico told Alec Baldwin’s defense team that the gun used in the 2021 shooting on the set of 'Rust' broke during testing, a source close to the defense told @ABC News. https://t.co/NoeQ11SNLU

— ABC News (@ABC) March 9, 2023

The source called it “very problematic” since it is a key piece of evidence that led to involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin in connection with the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

[I’ll say. Even if it broke, it should have remained in evidence. I somehow doubt that it was purposefully “destroyed,” or disposed of. If that’s what happened — and we’re not getting that reported *explicitly* by ABC — it may be impossible to prosecute either Alec Baldwin or Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, both of whom could be expected to argue that the firearm failed in some manner. If they can’t access the pistol, then it deprives them of a legitimate defense. If that’s the case, one has to wonder who made the decision to destroy the gun, and why. If the gun broke and it’s still available to the defense, it might not stop prosecutors from proceeding, but it certainly gives the defense more substance from which to argue for a malfunction. — Ed]