Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armourer responsible for supplying the firearm to Alec Baldwin on the movie set of ‘Rust’ in 2021, has been held accountable for involuntary manslaughter following the fatal discharge of the weapon that led to the demise of cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins. This conviction marks a precedent in which a jury has made a decision on a trial relating to the unintentional shooting of Hutchins.
The major charge she faces could see her serve up to 18 months jail term. Post the declaration of the verdict, the prosecution requested the court for Gutierrez-Reed’s immediate detainment, a request honoured by Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer. Gutierrez-Reed was guided out of the courtroom by a court officer without handcuffs.
Meanwhile, Alec Baldwin faces a similar charge of involuntary manslaughter and his trial will commence in July. Baldwin contests this charge, stating his innocence on the grounds that he was told the gun was void of any live rounds, which were explicitly forbidden on the set.
The two-week trial centred on the allegation that Gutierrez-Reed had failed to load Baldwin’s gun with dummy rounds that are essentially incapable of being fired, despite resembling real bullets on camera. The tragedy struck when one live round was mistakenly loaded and discharged, killing Hutchins, injuring the director and leaving the industry perplexed over how such an incident could occur on a set where live rounds were strictly prohibited.
The prosecution established a narrative of Gutierrez-Reed as negligent in her armourer duties on the ‘Rust’ set by calling upon crew members who condemned her unprofessional behaviour. Evidence was presented of her regularly disorganised weapons and ammunition cart, alongside instances of failing to collect the weapons from the actors post the completion of scenes. The prosecution amplified their argument against Gutierrez-Reed by presenting a photograph of her posing with the alleged live rounds on set, before a large ammunition delivery from the main supplier for the film.
Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyers have countered claims that she was the source of the live ammunition found on set, arguing that her young age and lack of authority due to cost-pressurised producers had forced her into additional prop duties, which distracted her from her primary weapon responsibilities. Post the tragic shooting event, six live bullets were discovered on the film set, including the one discharged.
At the final arguments that took place on Wednesday, lead prosecutor Kari Morrissey likened the situation to that of a “Russian roulette when an actor was handed a fake gun”. After two and a half hours of contemplating, the jury of 12 returned with their judgement.
The jury determined Gutierrez-Reed to be innocent of evidence tampering allegations made by a fellow Rust crew member. The team member claimed that Gutierrez-Reed had handed over a small bag of cocaine to her on the day of the disastrous shooting, with a request to keep it safe. However, the defence countered this accusation by stating that since the crew member had promptly discarded the bag, her account of its contents was not credible. This story was originally published in The New York Times.
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