For the first time, set videos were shown in court showing how safe – or unsafe – “Rust” was.
In the case surrounding the death of the film’s camerawoman, Halyna Hutchins, who died on the set of the film “Rust” due to an accidental pistol shot by Alec Baldwin, gun master Hannah Gutierrez Reed is currently in court in Santa Fe. During the trial on Thursday (February 29), videos from the set were shown for the first time, revealing how Baldwin, Gutierrez Reed and their colleagues handled the weapons and security.
Alec Baldwin rushed her
Among other things, the jury saw an excerpt in which the director shouted “Action!” on location, Alec Baldwin then stepped in front of the camera, fired an old pistol and wanted to start another recording immediately after the “cut”. He shouted, “One more! One more! One more! Immediately! Let’s reload!” The 24-year-old gunsmith then hurried to reload his weapon with blank cartridges – the actor was visibly impatient and she followed his request.
A little later there was a fatal accident on the set, about which Gutierrez Reed now has to stand trial. Baldwin will also appear in court in July – both are charged with criminal negligence. The 65-year-old is further accused of being responsible both for firing the fatal shot and for management failure in his role as producer – something his defense argues against because he was carrying out a “creative” production role.
“He uses the gun as a pointer”
Also present at Hannah Gutierrez Reed’s trial was Bryan Carpenter, an experienced weapons master, who was supposed to act as an expert witness to assess safety on the set based on the videos shown. He argued that he recognized some failings in this regard, for which the defendant was partly responsible.
One of the misjudged situations included a scene in which a stuntman ran around with a shotgun and disregarded the correct and safe handling of the firearm. On the other hand, you could see him later handing the prop into the hands of a child actor. Carpenter explained that Gutierrez Reed should have intervened here at the latest. She herself could also be seen in the footage not holding a pistol according to instructions. Likewise, it would have been their responsibility to slow down Baldwin’s reloading and follow the rules, even if he had insisted on speeding things up. “In a situation like this, when you’re in such a hurry, safety starts to fall by the wayside,” he testified.
Carpenter also observed other situations in which Baldwin handled the weapons too hastily or simply incorrectly. Here it was also the weapon master’s job to point this out to him and slow down his behavior. As an example, a situation was shown in which the actor was lying on his back, holding a pistol in his hand and gesturing with it to explain his actions. “He uses the weapon as a pointer,” explains the expert.
Gutierrez Reed did not stop him, but instead warned the crew that was nearby and asked them to get out of the way. Carpenter disputed the suggestion that she had avoided communicating with Baldwin, saying, “She was not trying to correct Mr. Baldwin, but rather to put the crew in a safer position.” That statement was made under cross-examination by Carpenter’s attorney, Jason Bowles. used to state that she had just gotten into the business and wasn’t even in the union yet. The expert replied that in her role as a weapon master she had taken responsibility for the lives of others: “It is a difficult situation. If you don’t feel able to do it, you should never put yourself in the position of having to do it.”
David Halls defended Baldwin and Gutierrez Reed
Another person who appeared in court Thursday morning was David Halls, the first assistant director on “Rust” and the person ultimately responsible for security on set. He admitted in 2023 that he had acted negligently and was subsequently sentenced to six months in prison on probation. During his speech, he presented a different picture of what happened – he considered the set to be safe until the fatal shot and defended the behavior of Baldwin and Gutierrez Reed.
The weapons master always seemed to him to be hard-working and self-confident and also always seemed knowledgeable in handling the firearms. All props were checked by her according to the applicable standards. Alec Baldwin’s behavior would not have raised any concerns with him either. Halls said: “I don’t see it as Mr Baldwin inciting people. I describe him as an actor in his momentum – ‘I’m ready.’, ‘Okay, let’s go.’ Mr. Baldwin never rushed anyone.”
Another issue the assistant director was questioned about was the accidental discharge of two empty cartridges that occurred a few days before Halyna Hutchins’ death. While many on set were concerned, Halls, when questioned, admitted that he had not acted. “I didn’t do anything. As [die] When the long gun went off, I said, ‘What the hell is going on?'” Halls was also accused of giving Alec Baldwin the gun from which the fatal cartridge ejected. That would have been a violation of safety regulations, which only allow the armorer and the actor to handle it. Halls denied passing it on and argued that Hannah Gutierrez handed the gun over to Reed herself.
“It is important to me that the truth comes to light”
He had already made this statement in an affidavit in 2022. However, he admitted from the outset that he should have checked the weapon and had failed to do so. In retrospect, he realized his serious mistake and voluntarily revealed the truth – he only realized after the incident that the weapon contained five dummy cartridges as well as the rest of a live cartridge. He concluded: “It is important to me that the truth comes out – that Halyna’s husband and son, her family, know the truth about what happened. It is important that the cast, crew and producers of ‘Rust’ know what happened. And it’s important that the industry, the film and television industry, knows what happened so that it never happens again.”