Two and a half years after the fatal shooting, she is now determined on her fate. The gunsmith of the western “Rust”, produced by Alec Baldwin and on the set of which the director of photography was killed by a shot, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, the maximum sentence she faced. Responsible for the weapons on the film, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in early March by a New Mexico court.
It was she who loaded the revolver with which Alec Baldwin was rehearsing in October 2021, when filming turned into a drama, on a ranch in this region of the southwest of the United States. A live bullet killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.
Star and producer of the film, Alec Baldwin is also charged with manslaughter. He faces the same sentence as the gunsmith, but must be tried separately in July. This rare news item shocked Hollywood and provoked calls to ban firearms on sets.
" Scapegoat "
During the gunsmith's trial, the prosecution criticized her amateurism and inexperience. His negligence led to “constant and endless security failures” on set, according to prosecutor Kari Morrissey. The gunsmith “left guns unattended all the time,” she continued, and did not check that ammunition was safe, in violation of film industry safety regulations.
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Blank bullets used on target produce a clicking sound easily identifiable by a professional when shaking the weapon. “If it does not check the dummy ammunition (…) to ensure that they are indeed blank bullets, (…) it is a game of Russian roulette which is engaged each time an actor carries a weapon,” criticized the prosecutor.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's defense, on the contrary, presented her as a “scapegoat” for a production that neglected security for financial reasons. The young woman had no way of knowing that live ammunition had infiltrated the set and believed that production had only obtained blank bullets, according to her lawyer Jason Bowles. She was also tasked with other tasks, which prevented her from fully concentrating on her role as an armorer. “Responsibility lies with production, as in any organization. It starts at the top,” he argued.
Interrupted by the tragedy, filming on “Rust” was finally completed in Montana, in the northwest of the country, with Halyna Hutchins’ widower, Matthew, as executive producer. At the end of 2022, he abandoned the civil proceedings he had initiated against Alec Baldwin at the end of an agreement the amount of which was not disclosed.
For their part, the 66-year-old actor's lawyers are currently trying to have his criminal trial annulled, by raising nullities. Last week, the prosecution called for his continuation, in a detailed response which charges him heavily, accusing him in particular of exerting constant "pressure" on the team which has "regularly compromised security" and accusing him of having “blatantly lied” by denying pulling the trigger of the gun.