The gun fired by actor Baldwin was laid on a cart by armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.
Who is Hannah Gutierrez-Reed?
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was the head armorer on the film set for Rust.
The 24-year-old is the daughter of long-time film industry armorer, Thell Reed.
She has been named as the armorer responsible for guns on the set.
According to a warrant from the ongoing police investigation, the gun Baldwin fired in the fatal shooting was handed to the actor loaded with a live round.
The warrant, obtained by the Associated Press, says that an assistant director handed the gun to the actor and told him that it was “cold” before he fired it, fatally striking cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza on Thursday, October 21.
It also says that the assistant director was not aware that the gun was loaded.
The gun that was fired was one of three laid on a cart by the film’s armorer, Gutierrez-Reed.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was the head armorer on the film set for Rust.
The 24-year-old is the daughter of long-time film industry armorer, Thell Reed.
She has been named as the armorer responsible for guns on the set.
According to a warrant from the ongoing police investigation, the gun Baldwin fired in the fatal shooting was handed to the actor loaded with a live round.
The warrant, obtained by the Associated Press, says that an assistant director handed the gun to the actor and told him that it was “cold” before he fired it, fatally striking cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza on Thursday, October 21.
It also says that the assistant director was not aware that the gun was loaded.
The gun that was fired was one of three laid on a cart by the film’s armorer, Gutierrez-Reed.
Assistant director Dave Halls grabbed the gun from the cart, believing it was unloaded, and brought it inside to Alec, who was filming a scene, the warrant says.
The armorer was described as being “inexperienced and green” by a Rust production source.
They explained that there were at least two previous incidents of guns being unsafely discharged by other crew members before the tragic incident.
On October 26, 2021, it was reported that Reed’s landlady may be kicking her out of her apartment because she “doesn’t want her living there anymore.”
Reed currently resides at two-bedroom property close to the Colorado River in Bullhead, Arizona, according to Fox.
“I want her out,” said the landlady, who declined to give her name to the outlet. “I’ve told her she has to go.”
Read our Alec Baldwin shooting live blog for the very latest news and updates…
What does an armorer do?
Armorers supervise all use of weapons on production sets for movies, TV programs or stage shows.
They also provide instructions to actors on how to properly and safely use them.
Armorers also work closely with the props department.
What has Hannah Gutierrez-Reed said about the Alec Baldwin shooting?
As the investigation continues, Gutierrez-Reed has since hired New Mexico attorneys Jason Bowles and Robert Gorence, who released a statement on her behalf.
The October 29, statement read: “First Hannah would like to extend her deepest and most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Halyna. She was an inspirational woman in film who Hannah looked up to.
“She also offers her thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery to Joel. Hannah is devastated and completely beside herself over the events that have transpired.
“She would like to address some untruths that have been told to the media, which have falsely portrayed her and slandered her. Safety is Hannah’s number one priority on set.
“Ultimately this set would never have been compromised if live ammo were not introduced. Hannah has no idea where the live rounds came from. Hannah and the prop master gained control over the guns and she never witnessed anyone shoot live rounds with these guns and nor would she permit that.”
She claims the guns were locked up “every night and at lunch” and there was no way any of them were unaccounted for or being shot by crew members, insisting she has never had an accidental discharge.
“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 went on.
“Hannah was hired on two positions on this film, which made it extremely difficult to focus on her job as an armorer.
“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. This was not the fault of Hannah.
“Hannah and her legal team will address more of these rumors and the whole incident in an upcoming statement next week.”
The statement came after a family source told The Sun that she is “heartbroken” and concerned she’ll never work again in the industry.
Before the shooting, Gutierrez-Reed told a podcast about her first job as head armorer on The Old Way, revealing she wasn’t sure if she was “ready” for it.
Speaking on Voice of the West podcast in September 2021, she discussed working on western.
She saidat the time: “It was a really bada** way to start off a really long and cool career, I’m hoping. I just finished up working on The Old Way with Nicolas Cage, his very first Western.
“It was also my first time being head armorer as well. You know, I was really nervous about it at first, and I almost didn’t take the job because I wasn’t sure if I was ready, but, doing it, like, it went really smoothly.”
Following the incident, Hannah has removed her Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounts after images emerged of her toting guns.
Sources have said that she canceled her social media accounts, including one under the name “no_son_of_a_gun” on legal advice following the tragic shooting.
Is Alec Baldwin being sued by Halyna Hutchins’ family?
On February 15, 2022, it was announced that Halyna Hutchins’ family is suing Alec Baldwin over the “reckless” shooting death on the set of Rust.
The suit claims that Baldwin, along with the other defendants, “failed to perform industry standard safety checks and follow basic gun safety rules while using real guns to produce the movie Rust, with fatal consequences.”
