Topline
Rust assistant director Dave Halls backed up Alec Baldwin's claim that he didn't pull the trigger of the gun that shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, an attorney for Halls said Thursday—adding to the mystery of how a gun with live ammunition ended up killing someone on the movie set.
Actor Alec Baldwin attends the Build Series to discuss "Motherless Brooklyn" at Build Studio on ... [+]
Key Facts
In an interview with “Good Morning America” Thursday, lawyer Lisa Torraco said her client, Halls, “told me since the very first day I met him that Alec did not pull that trigger. His finger was never in the trigger guard.”
Torraco said Halls told her it was a “misfire” and “a pure accident — freak, awful accident [that] unfortunately killed somebody.”
Baldwin said in an interview clip released Wednesday by ABC News that he "didn't pull the trigger" of the gun that was in his hand and said he "would never point a gun at someone and pull a trigger at them."
In response to Baldwin’s claims, Sante Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, who is leading the investigation into the shooting, told Fox News Digital that “guns don't just go off” and “whatever needs to happen to manipulate the firearm, [Baldwin] did that and [the gun] was in his hands.”
The full interview—Baldwin's first since the shooting—will air Thursday at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Key Background
On October 21, a gun Baldwin was holding fired, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s department is still investigating how a suspected live bullet ended up on the set, where crew members told authorities no live ammunition was ever kept. No charges have been filed in the shooting. Production on the western movie has been shut down until the investigation is completed. Halls has an alleged history of being lax with weapons on previous productions, and his lawyer has said he was “not responsible” for the guns on the Rust set, though crew members have told police he was, according to search warrant affidavits. Baldwin was both an actor and a producer on the film, and has been named in two civil lawsuits from crew members over the shooting.
Further Reading
Alec Baldwin Says He ‘Didn’t Pull The Trigger’ In ‘Rust’ Shooting (Forbes)
‘Rust’ Search Warrant Suggests Live Ammo On Set May Have Come From Weapons Supplier (Forbes)