Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has broken her silence after Alec Baldwin accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins with a loaded weapon that she supplied him with on the set of Rust.
In a statement, the 24-year-old said she had “no idea” why there were live rounds present.
Her lawyers released a statement saying: “Ultimately this set would never have been compromised if live ammo were not introduced. Hannah has no idea where the live rounds came from.”
Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for supplying the weapons, and keeping them safe on-set, ensuring they were locked away when not in use. More than a dozen weapons were stored in a prop truck on-set, but there were reports of crew members using them for target practice with live ammo on the day of the tragedy.
Baldwin was given a gun by assistant director Dave Halls, who said he didn’t check the weapon properly before announcing it was safe to be used. Halls was fired from a previous film for gun safety violations.
ALEC BALDWIN
Baldwin himself spoke out again on the shooting tragedy Friday. He said that Hutchins “was my friend” and said he had dinner with her and the director on the first day of filming.
“A woman died,” he said. “She was my friend. She was my friend. The day I arrived in Santa Fe to start shooting, I took her to dinner with Joel, the director. We were a very, very well-oiled crew shooting a film together and then this horrible event happened.”
He also said he is speaking to the Sante Fe Sheriff’s Office and the investigation.
BAN?
While several experts have called for bans of guns on-set, the Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey said that guns can be safe.
“There’s a safety protocol, and if it’s followed, it can be safe on-set,” he said, adding that the Rust tragedy occurred because “they missed protocol. Somewhere.”
He added that getting a verbal OK isn’t enough. “If you and I are in a scene together, I need to give you a visual. If it’s a six-shooter, do you see light through all six holes? You can’t over-confirm it.”
About 80,000 people have signed a petition calling for a ban of firearms on film sets. Prosecutors have not ruled out filing criminal charges.
