The lawyers for Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 24, have said they’re investigating whether someone was attempting to “sabotage the set” of the Alec Baldwin-led film, by putting a live bullet in a box of dummy rounds. Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was tragically killed after the 30 Rock star fired a prop gun, which has made Hannah part of the police investigation. Her attorneys Jason Bowles and Robert Gorence spoke to TODAY on November 3 about the possibility someone on the set intentionally put a live round in a box of dummy bullets.
“I believe that somebody who would do that would want to sabotage the set, want to prove point, want to say that they’re disgruntled, they’re unhappy,” Jason told Savannah Guthrie. “And we know that people had walked off the set the day before.” When asked if he believed a crew member could be a suspect, he responded, “I think you can’t rule anybody out at this point.”
Jason continued, “We know there was a live round in a box of dummy rounds that shouldn’t have been there. We have people who had left the set, who had walked out because they were disgruntled. We have a time frame between 11 (a.m.) and 1 (p.m.), approximately, that day, in which the firearms at times were unattended, so there was opportunity to tamper with this scene.”
Robert noted that the film set’s prop ammunition was reportedly in a truck “that was completely unattended at all times, giving someone access and opportunity.” He also claimed in an interview with the New York Times that the gun itself was left unattended for two hours before the fatal shooting. “Was there a duty to safeguard them 24/7?” he said. “The answer is no, because there were no live rounds.”
Alec Baldwin, 63, and his wife Hilaria Baldwin, 37, recently spoke on camera for the first time since the fatal shooting. The A-lister addressed the media on October 30 in Manchester, Vermont, where he and his family have been staying since the tragic incident in New Mexico. “It’s an active investigation in terms of a woman died, she was my friend,” Alec told reporters.
“We were a very, very well-oiled crew shooting a film together, and then this horrible event happened,” he continued. “There are incidental accidents on film sets from time to time, but nothing like this. This is a one in a trillion episode. It’s a one in a trillion event.” Alec noted that he was “extremely interested” in limiting the use of firearms on set following the fatal shooting.