SANTA FE COUNTY, NM. (THECOUNT) — Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer in charge of weapons on the set of Alec Baldwin movie, “Rust,” is saying she had “no idea” the gun was loaded with live ammo in a deadly incident involving cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Gutierrez-Reed, 24, blames Hutchins’ death on her cost-cutting bosses.
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Lawyers for Gutierrez-Reed said Thursday that she is “devastated and completely beside herself over the events that have transpired” on the “Rust” set, LawOfficer reported.
“Safety is Hannah’s number one priority on set. Ultimately this set would never have been compromised if live ammo were not introduced,” her attorneys, Robert Gorence and Jason Bowles, said in a statement. “Hannah has no idea where the live rounds came from.”
The armorer’s job was only Gutierrez-Reed’s second such gig. She says the staff was lacking and under-trained. Moreover, she claims she was overruled when she tried to improve safety on the New Mexico set before Baldwin discharged a weapon that killed Hutchins, 42, last Thursday.
“Hannah was hired on two positions on this film, which made it extremely difficult to focus on her job as an armorer,” the statement said, without going into her additional responsibilities.
“She fought for training, days to maintain weapons and proper time to prepare for gunfire but ultimately was overruled by production and her department. The whole production set became unsafe due to various factors, including lack of safety meetings,” it said of the movie that days earlier avoided a strike by crew.
Gutierrez-Reed appeared to confirm prior reports that there had already been an “accidental discharge” of a weapon at least twice during filming, insisting she was not responsible for either.
“The first one on this set was the prop master and the second was a stunt man after Hannah informed him his gun was hot with blanks,” the statement said.
DEVELOPING::
Geo quick facts: Santa Fe County is located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 144,170, making it New Mexico’s third-most populous county, after Bernalillo County and Doña Ana County. Its county seat is Santa Fe, the state capital – Wikipedia.