The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office investigators said not everyone involved in the set location of the movie "Rust" has been fully cooperating. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza singled out the film's assistant director Dave Halls for not doing his part.
“I think that, you know, working with counsel, some have not been very cooperative in coming up for followup interviews, and you know, that’s on advice of their counsel,” the sheriff said according to NBC Nebraska. “If Mr. Halls sees what happened on the set that day different, then come and explain to us how it happened,” he added.
The legal representative for Halls said it was not her client’s responsibility to confirm whether the gun was loaded or not when it was handed to actor Alec Baldwin. Attorney Lisa Torraco insisted that Halls did not handle the gun that accidentally killed cinematographer Haylna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.
In an interview with Fox News, Torraco said that the armorer had brought the weapon in and Halls did not load the gun nor did he hand the gun over to Baldwin. But backtracking from Halls’ previous acknowledgement to investigators, he said he should have checked all the rounds of the firearm before declaring it a “cold gun”. “This idea my client grabbed the gun and handed it to Baldwin absolutely did not happen.”
The .45 caliber Colt used by Baldwin had been called out on the set as a “cold gun”, which pertains to a weapon that does not contain any live rounds and has been deemed safe for use in rehearsals.
“That’s not the assistant director’s job. If he chooses to check the firearm because he wants to make sure that everyone’s safe, he can do that, but that’s not his responsibility,” Torraco reiterated.
Meanwhile, Halls has broken his silence since the tragic shooting, Halls called on the movie industry to “re-evaluate its values” as he expressed his thanks for the overwhelming love and support he has received, as well as his sadness over Halyna Hutchins’ death caused by the fatal prop gun mishap.
“It’s my hope that this tragedy prompts the industry to reevaluate its values and practices to ensure no one is harmed through the creative process again.”
At this point,the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office investigators are still trying to determine how live rounds managed to get on the set. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said last week investigators were still trying to determine how live rounds got on the set. Authorities have placed four people who have handled the gun prior to the shooting namely, the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, prop master Sarah Zachry, Halls and Baldwin.
In an affidavit filed with Santa Fe County Magistrate Court, Halls stated that he could only remember seeing three rounds when the armorer showed him the firearm before rehearsal and that he could not recall how thoroughly he had checked the prop gun.
Joel Souza, the director of "Rust" told police that safety protocols on the set required the armorer to hand firearms to the assistant director who is responsible for checking if the weapon is loaded with live rounds before handing it to an actor.
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