Safety coordinator on Baldwin film given suspended sentence

LOS ANGELES: The safety coordinator on the Alec Baldwin film “Rust” was convicted yesterday of unsafe handling of a firearm and sentenced to six months’ probation for his part in the fatal on-set shooting of its cinematographer.

The verdict was the result of a plea deal and means Dave Halls, who was also assistant director of the low-budget Western, becomes the first conviction over the accident, for which Baldwin faces manslaughter charges.

Halls handed Baldwin the loaded gun in October 2021 which ultimately discharged, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding the film’s director, Joel Souza.