The assistant director of “The Last” has testified about cinematographer Halina Hutchins’ final moments before she was shot.
Dave Halls, who was convicted of negligent use of a firearm in the on-set shooting incident, says Hutchins while testifying in the manslaughter trial of armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed on Oct. 21, 2021. recalled the series of events that led to his death.
Hall conducted two firearm checks with Gutierrez-Reed shortly before the gun went off at the small church at Bonanza Creek Ranch. The assistant director claimed that she did not instruct Gutierrez-Reed to load her gun with dummy bullets that day, but that she did.
When he and the 24-year-old armorer completed a second safety inspection of the gun, he recalled seeing only three or four dummy rounds in the cylinder. However, the gun at the time contained six bullets.
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Dave Halls mimes holding a gun with his hand while testifying in the manslaughter trial of Hannah Gutierrez Reed. (Courtesy of New Mexico State Court)
“i don’t remember [Gutierrez Reed] “I rotated the cylinder completely,” he testified.
The assistant director acknowledged that Gutierrez-Reed thought the safety inspection was complete, even though he did not show all the bullets loaded in the gun.
Halls said Gutierrez-Reed handed Baldwin a gun before both shootings, and that the assistant director yelled “cold gun” before handing the gun to Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed. refuted his claim.
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Halls pleaded no contest to negligent use of a firearm and admitted he was at fault in the shooting. He was sentenced to six months of unsupervised probation in March 2023.
When asked why he did not appeal, he said, “I failed to use the gun properly.”
Dave Halls wiped away tears during his testimony. (New Mexico State Court)
Halls became emotional as he described the aftermath of the shooting, and the special prosecutor suggested they take a break while he wiped his eyes with a tissue. The assistant director recalled being about 3 feet away from Hutchins and was one of the first to contact the cinematographer.
“Are you okay?” he remembered asking her as he described the gunshot wound. “She replied, ‘I can’t feel her legs.'”
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At that point, Halls left the church and attempted to “triage” the situation after confirming that 911 had been called. The assistant director grabbed the gun and instructed Gutierrez-Reed to empty the loaded firearm.
“I took it to her and said, ‘I want you to put that gun down. I want to know what’s in it,'” Halls told jurors.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reid holds a gun on the set of “The Last.” (New Mexico State Court)
Halls explained that when Gutierrez-Reed unloaded the gun, he saw five dummy bullets and one bullet that looked “obviously different” from the others.
“I remember it being gray, metallic gray,” he told the court. “I remember it being so, but it looked completely different.”
Halls also testified that he did not ask Gutierrez-Reed to leave the church in the minutes before the shooting and that he did not realize she had left the church until after the shooting.
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“In your experience, does armor just hand over the gun and walk away?” Special Counsel Kari Morrissey asked.
“That’s not my experience,” Halls replied.
Halls explained that it is “important” that the truth behind the deadly shooting is known. It is important for Halina’s husband, son, and Halina’s family to know the truth about what happened.
“It’s important that the cast and crew, as well as the producers of ‘The Last,’ know what happened,” he added. “And it’s important that the film and television industries know what happened so something like this never happens again.”
Alec Baldwin sits in the church where Hutchins was killed in an outtake from the “Last” production. (New Mexico State Court)
Earlier in the day, jurors were shown video footage of Baldwin appearing to rush the filming process on set. After filming a take in which he emerges from the cabin and fires his pistol, Baldwin yells, “One more! One more! One more! Now! Reload!”
In another shot, he is heard shouting, “Let’s go! Now, you have two guns and you need to reload them both.”
The footage showed Gutierrez-Reed trying to quickly reload the gun while Baldwin was screaming.
Baldwin is also charged with manslaughter in Hutchins’ death.
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A behind-the-scenes video clip shown in court on Thursday showed a series of safety deficiencies, the prosecution team claimed. Expert armorer witness Brian Carpenter testified that even if Baldwin and the production were rushing the set, it was the armorer’s job to slow down and ensure safety measures were followed.
“You have a responsibility to protect the safety of others,” Carpenter testified. “You have a responsibility to make sure you do what you need to do, even if it’s inconvenient, even if it’s not in your best interest. And if you don’t feel like you can do it, If so, you should never step into such a position. “
Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys argued that Baldwin ignored the armorer’s request for additional safety training before the fatal shooting.
Hannah Gutierrez Reed bows her head with her hands during the trial. (Courtesy of New Mexico State Court)
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Gutierrez-Reed’s trial began with jury selection on February 21st. The process took a full day and seven men and five women were selected. In addition to manslaughter, Gutierrez-Reed is charged with tampering with evidence. The armorer was charged with disguising a bag of cocaine on the same day as the “Rust” shooting.
