Breaking more than two years of silence, David Halls, assistant director of the western film “Rust,” described in vivid detail witnessing Alec Baldwin's fatal shooting of the film's director of photography, Halyna Hutchins.
On October 21, 2021, Baldwin, the star of the film, and others were preparing for a scene on the New Mexico set. Baldwin was sitting in a rustic church pew, slowly drawing his Colt .45 single-action revolver from its leather holster and pointing it toward the camera. Baldwin's character was about to engage in a shootout with two actors playing lawmen who burst into the church to catch Baldwin, who played a hardened outlaw named Harland Rust.
The actor pointed the gun at Hutchins, a rising star in the film industry.
“Then the gun went off,” Halls said Thursday on the sixth day of testimony during the criminal trial of gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Gutiérrez pleaded not guilty to the serious crime of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence. If she is convicted, she faces up to three years in prison.
Halls said that after the gun was fired, Hutchins, who was just 3 feet away from him, collapsed to the ground.
“I could have been the first person to reach her. She was on the ground,” Halls said, adding that he looked at her and asked, “‘Are you okay?'”
“She said, 'I can't feel my legs,'” Halls recalled.
Halls, who choked up with emotion on the stand, is one of three people criminally charged in connection with Hutchins' death. Last year, Halls pleaded no contest to negligent use of a deadly weapon and received a six-month suspended sentence, which Halls said ended last October. Halls agreed to pay a $500 fine, participate in a firearms safety class, refrain from using drugs or alcohol and complete 24 hours of community service. She also agreed to testify in court about the accident.
Baldwin was indicted last month by a grand jury on charges of involuntary manslaughter. Baldwin denied responsibility for the shooting and pleaded not guilty.
His trial is scheduled for July.
Until now, the deputy director, who was also security coordinator for the low-budget Western, has avoided making public statements about the tragedy. His attorney previously told New Mexico First Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer that Halls was “troubled by guilt” and had retired from Hollywood after a nearly 40-year career.
On Thursday he explained why he was eager to testify at Gutierrez's trial.
“It's important to me that 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, crew and producers of 'Rust' know what happened. And it is important that the industry (the film and television industry) knows what happened so that this does not happen again.”
However, Halls' recollection of a key event varies depending on that of other witnesses to the shooting. At least one other crew member testified that it was Halls who handed the loaded gun to Baldwin, stating that it was “cold,” meaning there was no live ammunition, such as a blank, inside.
On Thursday, Halls said Gutierrez first brought him the gun and showed him the chamber was empty. He said she then returned to the church, showed him fake bullets in the chamber of the gun, and handed the gun directly to Baldwin, who was sitting on a bench, in costume, preparing for the scene.
The cameras were not recording at the time of the shooting.
Baldwin, hours after the shooting, said it was Gutiérrez who gave him the gun. But Baldwin has since told Santa Fe County Sheriff's investigators that Halls gave him the gun. Gutierrez also testified that he was at the church only briefly, to give the gun to Halls. She said she rotated the cylinder so Halls could see that there were fake or inert bullets inside, and left before Halls handed the gun to Baldwin.
Gutierrez has testified that she was pulled in two directions, trying to fulfill the role of gunsmith and prop assistant.
Bryan Carpenter, an experienced film gunsmith and former law enforcement officer, testified Thursday that a gun-heavy movie like “Rust” should have had two gunsmiths, not one inexperienced weapons handler trying to juggle two key roles.
Another witness, Dolly Grip Ross Addiego, testified earlier in the week that he, too, was at the church that fateful afternoon. Addiego said he saw Halls give the gun to Baldwin.
Addiego also testified that Halls frequently missed safety meetings. Halls said Thursday that such meetings were not necessary.
The production of “Rust” was rushed, Addiego said, describing it as the “ridiculous” pace of filming a Western movie.
Addiego described further “chaos” on the day of the tragic shooting, which occurred the morning after six members of the camera crew resigned in protest, citing security lapses on the set and lack of nearby accommodation. Instead of pausing production, production managers forged ahead by getting a couple of new camera operators.
Due to the departure of the camera crew, the crew was delayed approximately two hours, witnesses testified. The on-set video village, which normally allows the director, cinematographer and others to remotely view the camera action, was not in use. That's why Hutchins and director Joel Souza were in the church “blocking” the scene with Baldwin and Halls.
Halls said Thursday that he quickly left the church after the shooting, but returned later.
“I returned to church. I went to the bank… [and] I grabbed the gun,” Halls said. “I left the church, I went to Miss Gutiérrez's house [prop] car… I took it to him and told him I need you to unload that gun. “I need to know what's in it.”
The trial, broadcast live on Court TV, is expected to last until March 6.
