'Rust' assistant director backs up Alec Baldwin's claim that the actor didn't pull the trigger of the gun that fatally shot the film's cinematographer

• Actor Alec Baldwin claimed he never pulled the trigger in the fatal accidental shooting on the "Rust" set.
• An attorney for a "Rust" assistant director David Halls said her client backed up Baldwin's claim.

An assistant director for the film "Rust" backed up actor Alec Baldwin after the actor said he didn't pull the trigger of the gun that killed a cinematographer and injured the director on-set, an attorney for the AD said.

On October 21, a prop gun held by Baldwin discharged while he was rehearsing a scene on the set of the upcoming Western film "Rust." Halyna Hutchins, a cinematographer on the film, was killed, and director Joel Souza was injured in the incident.

In an interview with ABC News set to air Thursday evening, Baldwin said "the trigger wasn't pulled."

"I would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger at them," he told ABC News's George Stephanopoulos. "Even now, I find it hard to believe that. It doesn't seem real to me."

David Halls, an assistant director for "Rust," defended Baldwin's claim, according to his attorney Lisa Torraco.

"Dave has told me since the very first day I met him that Alec did not pull that trigger," Torraco said during an interview on ABC News' "Good Morning America" on Thursday. "His finger was never in the trigger guard."

In a statement to Insider, Torraco said her client "never saw Mr. Baldwin's finger on the trigger.

"We are looking forward to the FBI functionality report to confirm or deny the possibility of a misfire," Torraco added.

Baldwin's claim and subsequent defense from Halls came in direct opposition to an accusation made against the actor in a lawsuit filed by another "Rust" crew member.

"Alec Baldwin intentionally, without just cause or excuse, cocked and fired the loaded gun even though the upcoming scene to be filmed did not call for the cocking and firing of a firearm," a lawsuit filed by script supervisor Mamie Mitchell claimed.

During Baldwin's interview, which airs on ABC News at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Stephanopoulos asked Baldwin about the circumstances behind the incident, namely how a real bullet could have gotten on the movie set.

"I have no idea," Baldwin replied. "Someone put a live bullet in a gun. A bullet that was not even supposed to be on the property."

A representative for Baldwin did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.