Current:Home > Markets"Rust" assistant director breaks down in tears while testifying about fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins-LoTradeCoin
"Rust" assistant director breaks down in tears while testifying about fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins
View Date:2024-12-23 20:11:39
Courtroom testimony in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin took an emotional turn Thursday when the assistant director for the Western movie "Rust" broke down in tears while recounting the moments after the deadly gunshot rang out. David Halls' new testimony conflicts with other accounts about a final safety check on a revolver and exactly who handed it to the actor during rehearsal for the film.
Halls, the safety coordinator on set, told jurors that weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who is on trial on charges of manslaughter and evidence tampering, twice handed the revolver to Baldwin. It was first emptied of bullets, Halls testified, and then loaded again with several dummy rounds and a live round.
Baldwin was pointing the weapon at Hutchins when it went off on the movie set ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 20, 2021, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding Director Joel Souza. Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer on "Rust," was separately indicted by a grand jury last month. His trial is scheduled for July.
"I did not see Ms. Gutierrez take the gun from Mr. Baldwin," Halls said during questioning by the prosecution, "but she appeared back on my left-hand side and she said that she had put dummy rounds into the revolver."
His testimony included a visceral account of standing just 3 feet from Hutchins when the single gunshot rang out. As Hutchins was on the ground, he asked if she was alright.
"She said, 'I can't feel my legs,'" Halls said, wiping away tears, according to video released by Court TV.
Halls said he left a makeshift church on the set to ensure someone called 911. He added that he struggled to understand how a live round could been fired, returning to the church to retrieve the gun from a pew before taking it outside to have it unloaded by a crew member and inspect the ammunition.
"The idea that it was a live round of ammunition that went off ... it wasn't computing," he said.
The testimony of Halls, who pleaded no contest last year to negligent use of a firearm and completed six months of unsupervised parole, may weigh significantly as prosecutors reconstruct the chain of events and custody of ammunition that led to the shooting.
He described a rudimentary safety check in which Gutierrez-Reed opened a latch on the revolver and he could see three or four dummy rounds inside that he recognized.
"She took a few steps to Mr. Baldwin and gave ... Baldwin the gun," Halls testified.
Gutierrez-Reed hasn't testified but told investigators in the aftermath of the shooting that she left the loaded gun in the hands of Halls and walked out of the church beforehand. She has pleaded not guilty.
Baldwin, who has pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter in his case, initially told investigators that Gutierrez-Reed handed him the gun but later said it was Halls. The actor has said he pulled back the hammer but not the trigger.
Halls acknowledged on the witnesses stand that he "was negligent in checking the gun properly" because he didn't examine all the rounds inside.
When asked by the prosecutor why he agreed to testify, Halls said he wanted "the truth be known."
"That Halyna's husband and son, her family, know the truth of what happened," Halls said. "It's important that the cast and the crew, producers of Rust know what happened. And it's important that the industry, the motion picture and television industry, knows what happened so that this never happens again."
Defense attorneys say problems on the set were beyond Gutierrez-Reed's control and have pointed to shortcomings in the collection of evidence and interviews. They also say the main ammunition supplier wasn't properly investigated.
Prosecutors say Gutierrez-Reed is to blame for bringing live ammunition on set and she treated basic safety protocols for weapons as optional. They say six live rounds bear identical characteristics and don't match ones seized from the movie's supplier in Albuquerque.
In other court testimony Thursday, a movie props supervisor who helped manage weapons on set said she threw away dummy ammunition rounds from two guns in the immediate aftermath of the shooting while in a state of shock and panic.
Sarah Zachry said she emptied the ammunition into a garbage container from guns that were used by actors other than Baldwin. She called it a "reactive decision" and said she eventually told law enforcement.
- In:
- Movies
- Entertainment
veryGood! (447)
Related
- Trump breaks GOP losing streak in nation’s largest majority-Arab city with a pivotal final week
- Strong thunderstorms and tornadoes are moving through parts of the South
- See Alba Baptista Marvelously Support Boyfriend Chris Evans at Ghosted Premiere in NYC
- COP-out: who's liable for climate change destruction?
- Stop smartphone distractions by creating a focus mode: Video tutorial
- Kylie Jenner Reveals If She's Open to Having More Kids
- Three Takeaways From The COP27 Climate Conference
- Why experts say you shouldn't bag your leaves this fall
- 'Devastation is absolutely heartbreaking' from Southern California wildfire
- The first satellites launched by Uganda and Zimbabwe aim to improve life on the ground
Ranking
- Mike Tyson impresses crowd during workout ahead of Jake Paul fight
- Coping with climate change: Advice for kids — from kids
- Look Back on All of the Love Is Blind Hookups That Happened Off-Camera
- Rita Ora Shares How Husband Taika Waititi Changed Her After “Really Low” Period
- Disney Store's Black Friday Sale Just Started: Save an Extra 20% When You Shop Early
- Paige DeSorbo Shares the No. 1 Affordable Accessory You Need to Elevate Your Wardrobe
- Prince William and Kate Middleton Share Unseen Photo of Queen Elizabeth II With Family Before Death
- The legacy of Hollywood mountain lion P-22 lives on in wildlife conservation efforts
Recommendation
-
Tesla Cybertruck modifications upgrade EV to a sci-fi police vehicle
-
See Elon Musk Play With His and Grimes’ Son X AE A-XII in Rare Photos
-
The Prettiest, Budget-Friendly Prom Dresses Are Hiding at Amazon
-
Andy Cohen Defends BFFs Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos After Negative Live Review
-
Steelers' Mike Tomlin shuts down Jayden Daniels Lamar comparison: 'That's Mr. Jackson'
-
Republicans get a louder voice on climate change as they take over the House
-
California's flooding reveals we're still building cities for the climate of the past
-
Love Is Blind's Paul Reveals the Cast Member He Dated After Micah Breakup