"Emotional Testimony and Safety Lapses: Inside the Intense Rust Trial"

During the trial for the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of "Rust," the assistant director, David Halls, broke down in tears while testifying about the moments after the deadly gunshot, conflicting with other accounts about the handling of the revolver. Halls described a safety check in which the revolver was emptied of bullets, then loaded with dummy rounds and a live round before being handed to Alec Baldwin. He also recounted standing just 3 feet from Hutchins when the gunshot rang out and his struggle to understand how a live round could have been fired. The testimony of Halls, who pleaded no contest last year to negligent use of a firearm, may weigh significantly as prosecutors reconstruct the chain of events leading to the shooting. Defense attorneys argue that problems on the set were beyond Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's control, while prosecutors blame her for bringing live ammunition on set and treating safety protocols as optional.