(Los Angeles) The assistant director who handed actor Alec Baldwin the loaded gun that killed a filmmaker on the set of the film Rust spoke on Monday for the first time since the tragedy, saying he was “shocked and sad”.
David Halls’ role in the Oct. 21 crash in New Mexico has been the subject of much speculation since he told investigators he should have checked the weapon but failed to do so.
In a press release to New York PostDavid Halls says he is “shocked and sad” after the death of the director of photography for the western, Halyna Hutchins, but he does not comment on the drama or its role.
“Halyna Hutchins was not only one of the most talented people I worked with, she was also a friend,” he writes.
“I hope that this tragedy will encourage the (film) industry to review its values and practices” to prevent such a tragedy from happening again, adds David Halls.
Along with gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, David Halls was in charge of weapons on the set of Rust and in particular had to ensure that they were harmless before introducing them on the set.
According to the first statements of the police officers, the assistant director told them that he “should have checked” that all the cartridges in the revolver used by Alec Baldwin to repeat a scene were fictitious but that he “did not have it. not done “.
Live ammunition accidentally fired by Baldwin fatally wounded Halyna Hutchins and ended up in the shoulder of director Joel Souza.
An online petition calling for a definitive ban on live firearms on filming had collected nearly 100,000 signatures on Monday. Its promoters argue that it is easy to add visual and sound effects to dummy weapons during post-production of films.
Asked by AFP, Mr. Halls’ lawyer had not reacted Monday afternoon.
Last weekend, Alec Baldwin himself spoke about the accident for the first time, lamenting a tragedy that had a “one in a trillion” chance to occur. The American actor said he could not comment on the facts while the investigation is ongoing.
No arrests were made, but the Santa Fe, New Mexico, prosecutor in charge of the investigation did not rule out possible criminal prosecution if responsibility is established.