NEW YORK — The assistant director who handed Alec Baldwin a prop gun that went off on a New Mexico film set, killing a cinematographer, backs up the actor’s assertion that he did not pull the trigger.

Lisa Torraco, a lawyer for assistant director David Halls, told ABC News that her client has always said Baldwin never pulled the trigger. “He told me since day one he thought it was a misfire,” Torraco said.

“Until Alec said that, it was just really hard to believe, but Dave has told me since the very first day I met him, that Alec did not pull that trigger.”

ABC released a clip Wednesday in which Baldwin said he did not pull the trigger before the gun fired, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding the film’s director.

Baldwin made the statement during an interview with George Stephanopoulos that was to air as a prime-time special Thursday on ABC at 8 p.m. EST. It will stream afterward on Hulu.

Baldwin’s sit-down interview with Stephanopoulos marks the first time the actor has spoken in depth on screen about the Oct. 21 shooting on the set of the western film “Rust.” “I didn’t pull the trigger,” Baldwin said. “I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them. Never.”

Authorities have said Baldwin was told the gun was safe to handle but continue to investigate how a live round ended up in the weapon.

ABC released a clip Wednesday that shows Baldwin breaking down in tears while describing Hutchins.

Investigators have described “some complacency” in how weapons were handled on the “Rust” set. They have said it is too soon to determine whether charges will be filed, amid independent civil lawsuits concerning liability in the fatal shooting.

ABC said a two-hour special “20/20” next week will examine the shooting investigation in more depth.