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(CNN) – A lawyer representing David Halls, an assistant director on the set of the movie “Rust,” said it was not his responsibility to confirm whether the gun given to Alec Baldwin was loaded, even though Halls acknowledged prior to investigators that he should have checked all ammunition before declaring the weapon safe.
“He is not responsible for verifying it,” attorney Lisa Torraco said in an interview on Fox News Monday. “That is not the job of the assistant principal. If you choose to search the firearm because you want to make sure everyone is safe, you can, but that is not your responsibility. “
According to a detective search warrant affidavit filed last week, Halls acknowledged to investigators that he should have checked all the bullets loaded into the gun and “couldn’t remember if he turned the drum” before the fatal shooting. on October 21 he killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza.
David Halls, assistant to the director of the film “Rust.”
“David warned that the incident was not a deliberate act,” writes the detective.
Torraco said Halls was not required to search the weapon.
“Waiting for an assistant principal to check a firearm is like telling the assistant principal to check the camera angle or telling the assistant principal to check the sound or lighting,” Torraco said.
According to The New York Post, Halls, in her first public statement since the shooting, discussed her relationship with Hutchins.
“Halyna Hutchins was not only one of the most talented people I have ever worked with, but also a friend,” she said in the statement. “I am shocked and saddened by his death.”
Although Halls did not elaborate on the details of the investigation, he did comment on the changes he would like to see within the industry.
“I am hopeful that this tragedy prompts the industry to reevaluate its values and practices to ensure that no one is harmed again through the creative process,” his statement read.
According to the newspaper, Halls said that he has been “overwhelmed by love and support” and that “his thoughts are with everyone who knew and loved Halyna.”
CNN has repeatedly tried to reach Halls and has not responded. His attorney declined to comment to CNN on Monday.
Alec Baldwin dresses up for Halloween with his family 0:50
There are still questions about how the live ammunition gun got to Baldwin
Torraco said witnesses have told his team that the gunsmith or assistant gunsmith brought the gun to set.
Attorneys for Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the film’s weapons supervisor, said their priority is safety.
“Ultimately, this set would never have been compromised if live ammunition had not been introduced,” attorneys Jason Bowles and Robert Gorence said in a statement. “Hannah has no idea where the live bullets came from.”
Torraco said witnesses told his team that the gunsmith handed the gun directly to Baldwin and then Baldwin put it in a holster. Some witnesses also said that Baldwin wanted to adjust his holster and handed the gun to Halls, who immediately returned the gun to him after the actor adjusted the holster, Torraco added.
According to Torraco, other witnesses have said that the gunsmith brought the firearm, another member of the team checked the firearm, and then Halls checked the firearm “incidentally” and handed it over to Baldwin “because he was among the two, ”said Torraco.
But she said there was one thing wrongly reported about what Halls did that day.
“In the affidavits, it says my client took the gun from a prop car and gave it to Baldwin. That didn’t happen at all, ”Torraco said.
Sante Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said investigators used different statements in the affidavits.
“Those don’t include all the statements, obviously, in the investigation,” she told CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront.” “So there are statements that Mr. Halls inspected or tampered with the firearm before giving it to Mr. Baldwin.”
Mendoza said it is important that Halls and others cooperate with investigators and attend follow-up interviews.
“If Mr. Halls sees differently what happened on set that day, then come and explain how it happened,” the sheriff said.
The sheriff added that some of the people they want to talk to again have not agreed, on the advice of their attorneys.
Torraco said that whether his client gave the gun to Baldwin is not important.
“My client did not load the firearm. My client did not point the firearm at anyone. And my client didn’t pull the trigger, ”Torraco said. “The gunsmith comes in, the gunsmith opens the firearm, my client looks at it, and one of the other team members checks it as well. Whether or not he gave the gun directly to Alec Baldwin at that time or whether the gunsmith gave it directly to Alec Baldwin at that time doesn’t really matter because he didn’t carry it. “
An earlier affidavit says Halls yelled, “cold weapon,” meaning the firearms had no real bullets, before handing the weapon over to Baldwin.
CNN has contacted Torraco seeking comment.
Baldwin says he is ‘extremely interested’ in future safe use of weapons
Baldwin said this weekend that he talks to detectives daily.
“We are anxiously waiting for the Sheriff’s Department to tell us what their investigation has yielded,” Baldwin told paparazzi following him and his wife in Manchester, Vermont.
He told them that he could not comment on what happened because there is an ongoing investigation.
Baldwin said he couldn’t answer if he would ever work on another film set involving firearms like those used on the set of “Rust.”
“I know that an ongoing effort to limit the use of firearms on film sets is something that I am extremely interested in,” said Baldwin. “But remember, something that I think is important, how many bullets have been fired in movies and TV shows in the last 75 years? This is America. How many bullets have been fired in movie and television sets … and almost all without incident ”.
In the event that something goes wrong and as a consequence of “this horrible catastrophe, some new measures must be taken,” he said, including the possibility of using rubber guns or plastic guns.
“That is not for me to decide,” Baldwin said.
No criminal charges have been filed, but the Santa Fe County district attorney recently said she has not ruled it out.
CNN’s Steve Almasy, Amanda Watts and Lisa Respers France contributed to this report.
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