The assistant director for the Western flick \u201cRust\u201d is speaking out for the first time since the on-set shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, \u2026<\/b>
\nThe assistant director for the Western flick \u201cRust\u201d is speaking out for the first time since the on-set shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, calling on the movie industry to \u201creevaluate its values\u201d after the fatal gaffe. However, David Halls did not address details of the incident \u2014 or respond to previous reports that he was the one who handed the \u201chot gun\u201d used in the deadly shooting to actor Alec Baldwin. \u201cHalyna Hutchins was not just one of the most talented people I\u2019ve worked with, but also a friend,\u201d Halls said in a statement. \u201cI\u2019m shocked and saddened by her death,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s 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.\u201d Halls added that he\u2019s been \u201coverwhelmed by the love and support,\u201d and said, \u201cmy thoughts are with all who knew and loved Halyna.\u201d The Oct.21 shooting on the New Mexico movie set killed Hutchins, a 42-year-old mom, and wounded the film\u2019s 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\u2019t recall how thoroughly he checked the weapon. \u201cDavid advised when Hannah showed him the firearm before continuing rehearsal, he could only remember seeing three rounds,\u201d he told detectives, according to an affidavit filed in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court. \u201cHe advised he should have checked all of them, but didn\u2019t, and couldn\u2019t recall if she spun the drum,\u201d 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\u2019s cart during an investigation into the incident. The witnesses also denied that Halls had called the gun \u201ccold\u201d before giving it to Baldwin, according to the source. According to the affidavits, the gun was one of three on the armorer\u2019s 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 \u201cchecked the \u2018dummies\u2019 and ensured they were not \u2018hot rounds,’\u201d the affidavits said. The young armorer\u2019s lawyers said last week she had no idea how live rounds got onto the set and complained that she was understaffed and undertrained \u2014 and was ignored when she made safety suggestions. No charges have been filed in the shooting and the investigation continues.<\/p>\n