The “Rust” assistant director who handed Alec Baldwin the prop gun that fired on a film set in October, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, must sit down for an interview with state investigators, a judge ruled.
New Mexico District Court Judge Bryan Biedscheid on Friday granted a request from the state’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau of the Environment Department to issue David Halls a subpoena, according to local outlets.
Investigators have previously detailed in search warrants how Halls “grabbed” the gun from a cart and then yelled “cold gun” to indicate it was safe as he handed it to the low-budget Western’s lead actor on Oct. 21 on set Santa Fe.
The gun “was fired by the actor Alec Baldwin,” killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza, the affidavits stated.
Halls did not believe the gun was loaded, according to investigators.
Safety officials have tried to interview Halls twice since Nov. 2, but he declined both times. His attorney said he would not agree to an interview until the criminal investigation into the incident is complete, a compliance officer wrote in an affidavit in support of the subpoena request.
The application for the subpoena said that an interview with Halls is necessary because as assistant director, he was responsible for set safety and knew who present during the shooting and who had come in contact with the gun.
Rebecca Roose, deputy cabinet secretary of the Environment Department, told The Santa Fe New Mexican that Halls’ interview is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, but that the judge could change the date.
In previous interview with Fox News on Nov. 1, Halls’ attorney Lisa Torraco denied that her client had handed the gun to Baldwin.
“This idea my client grabbed the gun and handed it to Baldwin absolutely did not happen,” she said, before backtracking and dodging follow-up questions from host Martha MacCallum.
“The armorer brought the weapon in,” Torraco said. “The armorer opens the firearm… [Halls] didn’t load it.”
Torraco told KOB-TV on Friday that Halls would cooperate with state officials.
With Post wires