Rust armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed files lawsuit blaming Alec Baldwin, others

The armourer on the movie Rust has filed an explosive lawsuit, pointing fingers at those she says are responsible, including Alec Baldwin.

The armourer on the ill-fated movie Rust is suing a prop supplier, claiming it sold live and dummy ammunition together leading to the on-set shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

The New York Post reports that armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed claimed in a fiery 24-page lawsuit filed on Wednesday that Seth Kenney, who owns PDQ Media Arm & Prop, made “false representations” and caused “live rounds to be introduced on the New Mexico movie set.”

The suit alleges another prop assistant brought in a new box of .45-calibre Long Colt rounds from Mr Kenney’s shop the day of the shooting on October 21.

The lawsuit also claims Baldwin, 63, ignored a request to attend a “cross bow” session about a week before the tragedy.

Actor Alec Baldwin told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview that he had "no idea" how a live bullet got onto the set of his film, Rust, but that he "didn't pull the trigger" on the firearm.

Ms Gutierrez-Reed said she thought the rounds from that box were blanks, but no one has since acknowledged where the box came from.

Alec Baldwin was told that the gun was “cold,” indicating that the weapon contained only dummy bullets, but a live bullet inside the weapon struck and killed Hutchins as she was setting up a close-up shot of the actor, the suit alleges. Director Joel Souza was also hurt by the bullet after it exited Hutchins’ body.

Writer/director Joel Souza.

Ms Gutierrez-Reed said on the day of the shooting, she and two other prop assistants, handled the guns out of a safe. The armourer said she remembers cleaning the gun that Baldwin used and placed what she thought was another round from the dummy ammo box.

“To the best of Hannah’s knowledge, the gun was now loaded with 6 dummy rounds,” according to the suit. “Indeed, Defendants as suppliers of prop ammunition to the Rust set, sold, distributed, and advertised its props as dummy ammunition and not live rounds. Hannah relied upon and trusted that Defendants would only supply dummy prop ammunition, or blanks, and no live rounds were ever to be on set.”

Armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.

Ms Gutierrez-Reed said she spun the cylinder for the assistant director Dave Halls and showed him what she thought were loaded blank rounds. The armourer said Mr Halls told her the gun was not going to be used for a scene or rehearsal, so she left the gun inside the church set while she attended to her other duties outside.

Mr Halls was supposed to alert the armourer if Baldwin or anyone else used the gun because she was required to reinspect the firearm under rules of the set, the lawsuit alleges. About 15 minutes later, Ms Gutierrez-Reed claims Mr Halls gave the firearm to Baldwin and called out, “cold gun,” which signified the firearm was empty or contained blank rounds.

The cast and crew of Rust.

The armourer was not inside the church when Baldwin practised a cross-draw move from his shoulder holster and camera angles with Hutchins for an upcoming scene, the lawsuit said.

Ms Gutierrez-Reed maintained no one alerted her that the actor was practising with the gun, which Baldwin said “just went off.”

“Had Hannah been called back in, she would have reinspected the weapon, and every round again, and instructed Baldwin on safe gun practice with the cross draw, as was her standard practice,” the lawsuit stated, adding the gun had been out of her possession for more than 15 minutes.

Ms Gutierrez-Reed maintained no one alerted her that the actor was practising with the gun, which Baldwin said “just went off.”

“Had Hannah been called back in, she would have reinspected the weapon, and every round again, and instructed Baldwin on safe gun practice with the cross draw, as was her standard practice,” the lawsuit stated, adding the gun had been out of her possession for more than 15 minutes.

Assistant director Dave Halls.

The lawsuit also claims that props manager Sarah Zachry, accidentally fired a blank round at her foot on set.

About 20 minutes after that mishap, Baldwin’s stunt double also accidentally discharged a weapon on set, prompting Ms Gutierrez-Reed to confront her colleague about the sloppy mistakes, the lawsuit said.

When she indicated her intentions of reporting the incident to management, it led to a headed exchange with Mr Kenney, the bullet supplier.

“Accidental discharges are accidents,” Mr Kenney said in a text message referenced in the legal filing. “We learn and move on, and don’t forget, she’s your boss. Don’t push it.”

The lawsuit also claims that Mr Kenney texted Ms Gutierrez-Reed after Hutchins death, and tried to convince her to help “implicate AD [assistant director] Halls.”

Said the text: ‘Had you partnered up with a truly professional AD, none of this would have happened.

“That true professional would have supported your safe efforts. Instead you got David ‘’reckless’’ Halls.”

“Seth suggested that AD Halls had essentially bullied Hannah and not allowed her to do her job safely. Seth stated that if she would shift blame to Halls, he would “have her back’,” the lawsuit claimed.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and is republished here with permission

Originally published as Rust armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed files lawsuit blaming Alec Baldwin, others