Suspicions are high in the aftermath of the shooting on the set of “Rust”.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot on the film’s set after actor Alec Baldwin discharged a gun that was intended to be used as a prop. In a new interview, armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys — Jason Bowles and Robert Gorence — suggested the set may have been sabotaged.
READ MORE: Alec Baldwin Defends Working Conditions On ‘Rust’ Set
“She’s heartbroken and she’s just devastated by what’s happened.” -Jason Bowles, attorney for “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed pic.twitter.com/tp2RaAxKdi
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 3, 2021
“I believe that somebody who would do that would want to sabotage the set, want to prove a point, want to say that they’re disgruntled, they’re unhappy,” Bowles told “Today“’s Savannah Guthrie. “And we know that people had walked off the set the day before.
“We know there was a live round in a box of dummy rounds that shouldn’t have been there,” he added. “We have people who had left the set, who had walked out because they were disgruntled. We have a time frame between 11 (a.m.) and 1 (p.m.), approximately, that day, in which the firearms at times were unattended, so there was opportunity to tamper with this scene.”
The person who put the live round in the box of dummy rounds had to have the purpose of sabotaging the set. -Jason Bowles, attorney for Hannah Gutierrez Reed
Is that your theory of the case? –@SavannahGuthrie
We don’t have a theory yet. -Bowles pic.twitter.com/BpaQmFsqup
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 3, 2021
When asked if a crew member could be responsible, Bowles said, “I think you can’t rule anybody out at this point.”
Gorence added how the film set’s prop ammunition was in a truck “that was completely unattended at all times, giving someone access and opportunity.”
READ MORE: ‘Rust’ Armourer Attorneys Blame Producers For ‘Unsafe’ Set
Are you saying that disgruntled crew members who had walked off the set are potential suspects in your mind? –@SavannahGuthrie
I think you can’t rule anybody out at this point. -Jason Bowles, attorney for “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed pic.twitter.com/esApCCbDDL
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 3, 2021
“She had another duty and responsibility as key props assistant, and so she had gone to do that, right after she had provided the handgun to Mr. Halls,” Gorence said of Gutierrez-Reed. “So Mr. Halls took custody of the weapon and at that point, she was doing her other duties as key prop assistant.”
“That is the central question to this case: How did a live round get on set?”@SavannahGuthrie speaks exclusively with Jason Bowles and Robert Gorence, attorneys for “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who are speaking out about the investigation for the first time. pic.twitter.com/qTNGiAK5h1
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 3, 2021
In a separate interview with The New York Times on Wednesday, the attorney said the gun was left unattended on a tray for two hours the day of the shooting. The gun was loaded by Gutierrez-Reed with six dummy rounds allegedly taken from a box labelled “dummies.”
“Was there a duty to safeguard them 24/7?” Gorence said. “The answer is no, because there were no live rounds.”
The Santa Fe County Sheriff is still investigating the fatal shooting.
