Alec Baldwin Told Gun Was Cold; Rust Assistant Director Under Scrutiny for Past Safety Complaints

New reports on the accidental shooting death on the set for the film Rust are raising questions about the film’s assistant director and his track record with safety issues.

Investigations are looking into Alec Baldwin’s firing of a prop gun that fatally wounded cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.  Mediaite has reviewed court documents connected to the matter, and they both identified assistant director Dave Halls as the film staffer who handed Baldwin the prop gun that contained a live round.

According to the affidavit, Hall yelled “cold gun” as he gave Baldwin the firearm for the scene he was rehearsing. The term means that the gun shouldn’t have been loaded, and the news comes after reports previously suggested Baldwin didn’t know the gun held a live round.

The reports go on to say that Maggie Goll, a prop maker, and pyrotechnician who worked with Hall in the past, accused him of not maintaining a safe working environment. She spoke of one instance on the set of Hulu’s Into the Dark where Halls allegedly compelled her to keep a shoot going even after a pyrotechnician on set was having a medical emergency.

“Sets were almost always allowed to become increasingly claustrophobic, no established fire lanes, exits blocked,” Goll said, according to NBC. “Safety meetings were nonexistent.”

Goll’s account was corroborated by another crew member who spoke to CNN and said that when Halls did hold safety meetings, they were short and Hall was dismissive of the routine.

“The crew member also said Halls complained about having a gun “cleared” (inspected by a licensed professional on set, such as an armorer) for a scene where an actress would aim the gun to her own head and pull the trigger,” CNN reported.

Watch above, via CNN.