Halls, according to the chain NBC News, has a negative reputation for omitting safety practices, had been “fired from the set of ‘Freedom’s Path’ in 2019 after a member of the crew suffered a minor injury when a weapon unexpectedly went off,” he told the AFP a producer of that film that has not yet been released.
“Halls was immediately removed from the set after the prop gun was fired. The production did not film again until Dave was out of the location. An incident report was collected on that occasion, “added the” Freedom’s Path “producer.
Authorities are investigating the case, for which no one has been arrested or charged. But the focus is on those who tampered with the gun that killed Hutchins.
According to the testimonies collected in affidavits by investigators, Dave Halls, the production assistant, was the one who handed the gun to Baldwin saying it was “cold,” movie jargon to say that a gun is unloaded.
However, the film’s director Joel Souza said in his statement that he was “not sure” whether the weapon had been re-searched after a team lunch break.
Souza explained that Baldwin was rehearsing a scene in which he pointed a prop pistol at the camera lens, according to affidavits released by the Santa Fe sheriff’s department, in charge of the investigations.
Standing behind Hutchins when the gun was fired, Souza was shot in the shoulder, though discharged the same day. He said he heard something that “sounded like a whip and then a loud bang,” says the police document that the woman had access to. AFP.
After the shooting, Hutchins “grabbed his abdomen” and said he couldn’t feel his legs, the principal testified, adding that she “started stumbling backwards” and was “helped to fall to the ground.”
Cameraman Reid Russell, who was standing next to Souza and Hutchins, said Baldwin was “trying to explain how he was going to draw the gun and where his arm would be when he drew the gun.”
“Reid was not sure why the gun was detonated and only remembered the loud noise“says the affidavit.
The shot was not filmed because the crew was preparing the scene, the cameraman said.