A New Mexico jury took less than three hours of deliberation to find “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez- Reed guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the movie set in October 2021.
Actor Alec Baldwin, who held the single-action revolver when it discharged, sending a bullet into Hutchins, faces trial starting July 9. He also faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the case.
According to Fox News, Hutchins’ family has wanted everyone responsible for her death to be held accountable.
Fox noted that Baldwin faces a second charge—negligent use of a firearm—or, an alternative
involuntary manslaughter without due caution or circumspection.”
NBC News noted that Gutierrez-Reed was found not guilty of evidence tampering.
Baldwin has maintained he did not press the trigger on the single-action revolver. But during the armorer’s trial, Lucien Haag, described by Fox News as an “independent firearms expert,” testified that the handgun could not possibly have discharged without the trigger having been pulled, even if the gun was broken. The revolver had been examined by investigators following the fatal shooting.
It is not clear how a live cartridge got on the movie set in the first place. Live ammunition is typically prohibited on a film set, and decades of westerns, war films and crime movies have been filmed without mishap. Armorers are hired to make sure “prop” guns, which are real firearms, do not contain any live ammunition.
According to the NBC News report, Reed’s attorney, Jason Bowles, contended his client wasn’t even inside the building, a mock church, when the shot was fired. He reportedly contended that Baldwin went “off-script” by pointing the gun. The actor didn’t know there was a live round in the cylinder, the NBC report noted.
Variety and other news agencies said Gutierrez-Reed faces up to 18 months in prison.
The fatal shooting set off a wave of controversy within the firearms community on two levels. Handgunners familiar with single-action revolvers immediately scoffed at Baldwin’s claim he did not pull the trigger because that’s not how such handguns work. The trigger must be pressed in order for the cocked hammer to fall, enabling the firing pin to contact the cartridge primer, thus creating a discharge.
Second Amendment activists were quick to note the irony of the incident, because Baldwin has advocated for gun control.
