An attorney representing the assistant director who handed Alec Baldwin a loaded gun on the set of the film Rust says it was not her client's responsibility to confirm whether the weapon was safe to use or not - contradicting the director's previous admission that he should have checked the gun beforehand.
'He's not responsible for checking it,' declared Lisa Torraco, lawyer for Rust assistant director David Halls, in a televised interview with Fox News Monday night.
'That's not the assistant director's job.'
Lawyer Lisa Torraco, representing Rust assistant director David Halls, declared in a televised interview with Fox News Monday night that her client was not responsible for checking' whether the gun he allegedly handed to Alec Baldwin that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was safe to use or not. She also would not concede her client gave the actor the gun
Torraco then further clarified to interviewer Martha MacCallum: '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.'
According to search warrant executed by the Santa Fe County sheriffs last week, Halls acknowledged to police that he should have checked all the rounds loaded in the prop gun before it was given to lead actor Baldwin, who accidentally shot two crew members on the Santa Fe set.
Halls told investigator that he 'couldn't recall if he spun the drum' before the fatal shooting October 21, which injured director Joel Souza and left the film's 42-year-old cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, dead.
'David advised the incident was not a deliberate act,' one detective wrote in the report.
Assistant director David Halls is reportedly one of three people to handle the loaded gun before the tragic accident
Souza also told Santa Fe police that his assistant director was supposed to check the gun before handing it to Baldwin, but could not recall if he had done it.
'He advised he should have checked all of them, but didn't,' the warrant read.
Torraco, however, says that Halls' job description did not require him to check the gun.
'Expecting an assistant director to check a firearm is like telling the assistant director to check the camera angle or telling the assistant director to check sound or lighting,' Torraco told MacCallum Monday night.
Torraco also insisted that Halls did not handle the gun the day of the incident - contradicting investigator's accounts detailed in the affidavit.
'This idea my client grabbed the gun and handed it to Baldwin absolutely did not happen,' the attorney attested in Monday's interview, before backtracking and deflecting questions about whether Halls actually physically passed the gun to the actor.
McCallum the pressed the attorney, asking her flat-out whether or not Halls 'doesn't know if he handed the gun to Alec Baldwin.'
Torraco's televised spot came hours after client spoke out about the incident for the first time.
In a statement Monday addressing the October 21 shooting, Halls called Hutchins his 'friend' and asked the industry to 'reevaluate' its values.
'I'm shocked and saddened by her death,' Halls 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.'
Rust assistant director Halls issued his first statement since the October 21 shooting in the Santa Fe filming set that killed Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza
'Halyna Hutchins was not just one of the most talented people I've worked with, but also a friend,' he added.
Despite breaking his silence, the assistant director failed to address reports that he was one of the three people to handle the loaded gun before the tragic accident.
The other two were armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 24, and Baldwin, who received the gun from Halls.
Despite breaking his silence, the assistant director failed to address reports that he was one of the three people to handle the loaded gun before the tragic accident that killed Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza
Halls had reportedly declared it a 'cold' weapon, meaning it was loaded only with blanks, without having checked all the rounds in the gun barrel. Above, Alec Baldwin speaks on the phone in the parking lot outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office in Santa Fe
Search warrants reveal that Halls, and everyone else on the set, was unaware the gun he handed Baldwin contained live ammunition.
Halls had reportedly declared it a 'cold' weapon, meaning it was loaded only with blanks, without having checked all the rounds in the gun barrel.
Halls spoke out just hours after the haunting final words of Hutchins as she lay dying on the Rust Santa Fe film set were revealed.
'That was no good. That was no good at all,' Hutchins, 42, said seconds after she was fatally shot by Baldwin.
Hutchins' last words came after lead actor Baldwin discharged a prop Colt .45 revolver that was supposed to be loaded with blanks but contained live ammunition, and were reported Sunday by the Los Angeles Times after a slew of interviews with cast and crew.
DailyMail.com exclusively obtained photos from the late mother-of-one's wedding day 16 years ago, which show the Ukraine-born woman adorned in a long, white gown, accompanied by her parents Olga and Anatoly Androsovych, and her husband, Matt Hutchins.
DailyMail.com has obtained exclusive photos of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (pictured in the white wedding gown) on her wedding day 16 years ago, with husband Matt Hutchins (second from left) and parents Olga Androsovych (at far left) and Anatoly Androsovych
'That was no good. That was no good at all,' the 42-year-old mother-of-two said seconds after she was fatally shot by Alec Baldwin on the set of indie Western Rust on October 21 before succumbing to her injuries
Hutchins' last words came after lead actor Baldwin discharged a prop
