US

Rust weapons supervisor found guilty over fatal shooting on Alec Baldwin film set

Rust weapons supervisor found guilty over fatal shooting on Alec Baldwin film set

The Rust weapons supervisor has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter following the fatal shooting of the film’s cinematographer on set.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was found not guilty of evidence tampering.

Gutierrez-Reed was in charge of weapons during production of the Western film in New Mexico in October 2021, when a gun fired by star and co-producer Alec Baldwin went off during a rehearsal.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died following the incident, while director Joel Souza was injured.

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Halyna Hutchins, pictured in 2017

Involuntary manslaughter means causing someone’s death due to negligence, without intending to.

Jurors sitting on Gutierrez-Reed’s trial in Santa Fe reached their verdict after hearing evidence from dozens of witnesses, including eyewitnesses, FBI evidence analysts and an ammunition supplier to Rust, as well as Mr Souza.

The filmmaker said the noise of the shooting was “deafening” and “felt like someone had taken a baseball bat to my shoulder”.

Assistant director David Halls, who last year entered a plea bargain for negligent use of a deadly weapon, receiving a six-month suspended sentence, also gave evidence.

What is happening with Baldwin’s case?

Alec Baldwin
In this screen grab from lapel camera video provided by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, movie set armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, right, speaks with a sheriff's deputy as other colleagues, at center and left, react on the set of the western move "Rust," shortly after the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins by Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal, Oct. 21, 2021, in New Mexico. The scheduled trial next week of the movie weapons supervisor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin may hinge on an enduring mystery: How did live ammunition find its way onto the set of a film set where it was expressly prohibited? (Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Image:
Gutierrez and Baldwin (below) pictured on set in the aftermath of the shooting. Pics: Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office/AP

Baldwin was originally charged in January 2023, more than a year after the shooting.

Those charges were dropped a few months later based on evidence the hammer of the revolver might have been modified, allowing it to fire without the trigger being pulled.

The star was then charged again in January this year, and earlier this month pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter. He faces his trial in July.

Baldwin has said he pulled back the gun’s hammer – but not the trigger – and the weapon fired.

Filming of Rust resumed last year in Montana – with Baldwin reprising his role as the main character – after an agreement made Ms Hutchins’ widower an executive producer.

Gutierrez-Reed’s defence lawyer Jason Bowles said his client was being used as a “scapegoat” during the trial.

He said: “We’re here because of a tragedy, there’s no doubt, there was a tragic occurrence on that movie.

“But let me tell you something you already know: just because there was a tragedy, it does not mean that a crime was committed.”