The assistant director for the Western flick “Rust” is speaking out for the first time since the on-set shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, calling on the movie industry to “reevaluate its values” after the fatal gaffe.
However, David Halls did not address details of the incident — or respond to previous reports that he was the one who handed the “hot gun” used in the deadly shooting to actor Alec Baldwin.
“Halyna Hutchins was not just one of the most talented people I’ve worked with, but also a friend,” Halls said in a statement.
“I’m shocked and saddened by her death,” he said. “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.”
Halls added that he’s been “overwhelmed by the love and support,” and said, “my thoughts are with all who knew and loved Halyna.”
The Oct. 21 shooting on the New Mexico movie set killed Hutchins, a 42-year-old mom, and wounded the film’s director, Joel Souza, 48.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said last week investigators were still trying to determine how live rounds got on the set.
According to search warrants released by authorities in Santa Fe last month, three people handled the gun before the shooting: Baldwin, Halls, and 24-year-old armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was working on only her second film in that capacity.
Souza told police that safety protocols call for the armorer to hand the weapon to the assistant director, who is supposed to check to ensure there are no live rounds in the weapon before handing it to the actor.
Halls told police he couldn’t recall how thoroughly he checked the weapon.
“David advised when Hannah showed him the firearm before continuing rehearsal, he could only remember seeing three rounds,” he told detectives, according to an affidavit filed in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court.
“He advised he should have checked all of them, but didn’t, and couldn’t recall if she spun the drum,” the assistant director allegedly told cops.
Still, an insider told The Post that two staffers on set told investigators they never saw Halls remove the gun from the armorer’s cart during an investigation into the incident.
The witnesses also denied that Halls had called the gun “cold” before giving it to Baldwin, according to the source.
According to the affidavits, the gun was one of three on the armorer’s cart before it was handed to the 63-year-old actor, who was rehearsing a scene where he pointed the gun at the camera inside a church on the set.
Gutierrez told police she “checked the ‘dummies’ and ensured they were not ‘hot rounds,'” the affidavits said.
The young armorer’s lawyers said last week she had no idea how live rounds got onto the set and complained that she was understaffed and undertrained — and was ignored when she made safety suggestions.
No charges have been filed in the shooting and the investigation continues.
