The armorer for the movie Rust denies responsibility for the on-set disaster last week in which Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer and injured the director.
Lawyers for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who oversaw weapons in the low-budget Western film, released a statement Friday saying their client “has no idea where the live rounds came from.” They also claim Gutierrez-Reed has been “slandered” by “untruths” told to the media as authorities investigate. No charges have been filed more than a week after the incident.
“Hannah and the prop master gained control over the guns and she never witnessed anyone shoot live rounds with these guns and nor would she permit that,” lawyers Jason Bowles and Robert Gorence said in the statement. “They were locked up every night and at lunch and there’s no way a single one of them was unaccounted for or being shot by crew members.”
ROUGHLY 500 ROUNDS, SOME POSSIBLY LIVE, RECOVERED FROM SET OF ALEC BALDWIN FILM: SHERIFF
The on-set shooting in New Mexico killed the director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, and wounded director Joel Souza, who has since been released from the hospital.
In the hours before Thursday’s fatal shooting, members of the camera crew left in protest of the production’s safety and the film’s poor working conditions. Crew members also claimed there were previous misfires of prop guns on the set.
A search warrant affidavit said the assistant director handed the prop gun to Baldwin and shouted, “Cold gun.” That’s when Baldwin fired.
“There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours,” Baldwin tweeted last week. “I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.”
There was a bullet in the Colt revolver fired by Baldwin, according to Santa Fe County’s Sheriff Adan Mendoza, who added they found live ammunition on the set.
The movie’s chief electrician, Serge Svetnoy, blamed Gutierrez-Reed’s lack of experience and the film’s producers for the mishap.
“I’m sure that we had the professionals in every department, but one — the department that was responsible for the weapons,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “There is no way a twenty-four-year-old woman can be a professional with armory.”
Gutierrez-Reed, 24, was raised by a father who was also a Hollywood armorer. Gutierrez-Reed said in an interview with the podcast Voices of the West she had only worked one movie as head armorer prior to Rust.
Crew members told the Los Angeles Times there were other misfirings the week before the fatal shooting, but law enforcement officials say those reports are unconfirmed.
“Hannah, still to this day, has never had an accidental discharge,” the lawyers said. “The first one on this set was the prop master and the second was a stunt man after Hannah informed him his gun was hot with blanks.”
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The lawyers agree the set was unsafe but deny Gutierrez-Reed was to blame.
“She fought for training, days to maintain weapons, and proper time to prepare for gunfire but ultimately was overruled by production and her department,” they said. “The whole production set became unsafe due to various factors, including lack of safety meetings. This was not the fault of Hannah.”
The lawyers said they expect another statement from Gutierrez-Reed and her legal team next week.
