‘Rust’ armorer’s attorney suggests set possibly sabotaged by disgruntled crew member

Alec Baldwin’s fatal shooting of his cinematographer may have been the deadly result of a “disgruntled” crew member “sabotaging” the set, an attorney for the movie’s rookie armorer alleged Friday.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 24, loaded the gun Baldwin used on the set of “Rust” from a box of ammo that should have been only dummy rounds, her attorney, Jason Bowles, told the “Today” show.

“We know there was a live round in a box of dummy rounds that shouldn’t have been there — at least one live round,” said Bowles, a former federal prosecutor.

“We’re assuming somebody put the live round in that box — which, if you if you think about that, the person who put the live round in the box of dummy rounds had to have the purpose of sabotaging the set,” he claimed in the sensational interview. 

“There’s no other reason that you would do that — that you would mix that live round in with a dummy round,” he said.

The attorneys for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed
The attorneys for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed suggested on November 3, 2021 that their client was set up by disgruntled workers on the film “Rust” and given live rounds instead of dummy ones.
TODAY show
Alec Baldwin (2nd left) with Halyna Hutchins and other actors from the film.
Alec Baldwin (2nd left) and other actors from the film.
Josh Hopkins/Instagram

“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.

“And we know that people had already walked up to set the day before, and they had been and then they’re unhappy,” he said of the Western that had faced calls for strike action and a walkout by the camera crew.

“That is the central question to this case … how did a live round get on set, and who put that live round on the set?” Bowles said.

RUST movie assistant director AD Dave Halls
RUST movie assistant director AD Dave Halls had said the gun was “cold” and safe to use before giving it to Alec Baldwin.
Dave halls/Twitter
"Rust" was only the second job for Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.
“Rust” was only the second job for Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.
Voices of the West/Facebook

“You can’t rule anybody out at this point,” he said.

Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies has also warned that “no one has been ruled out at this point … All options are on the table” in the investigation.

That includes Baldwin, 63, he fired the shot that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, and injured director Joel Souza, officials said.

Halyna Hutchins' final Instagram post shows the cast and crew of Rust.
Halyna Hutchins’ final Instagram post shows the cast and crew of Rust.
Instagram / Halyna Hutchins
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed when a live round was fired from the gun while Alec Baldwin was rehearsing.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed when a live round was fired from the gun while Alec Baldwin was rehearsing.
SWEN STUDIOS/Handout via REUTERS

Around 500 rounds were taken as part of the investigation, including blanks, dummy rounds — and some suspected live rounds, officials have said.

source: nypost.com