Rust film armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed testified that Alec Baldwin spent time texting, FaceTiming, and having his assistant shoot video of him with the gun for Instagram during firearms training, RadarOnline.com has learned.
On October 21, 2021, Baldwin fired a prop gun that shot and killed the film's director of photography Halyna Hutchins.
27-year-old Gutierrez-Reed is now facing trial in Santa Fe on February 21, 2023, on charges of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering. The prosecutors argue her negligence in mistakenly loading live ammunition, coupled with her alleged evidence tampering, warrant these charges.
She could face up to three years in prison for these charges and an additional 18 months for a separate firearm possession charge added later.
Gutierrez-Reed held a training session for the dozen or so actors whose roles called for them to handle guns, but Baldwin was unable to attend.
“I was very impressed by the training session,” Halls testified to the OSHB. “She made sure that all those actors were holding the gun properly, pulling it out of their holster. They all shot blanks.”
The armorer claimed that she held a private training session for Baldwin at the church, testifying, “I walked in, and I said, ‘All right, Alec. I’m going to be your armorer. We’re going to go over how to shoot all your weapons, how to load them, how to make them safe, and we’re going to make sure that you really know — that you look like you know what you’re doing.’”
The armorer said that Baldwin spent much of the planned session on his phone texting, FaceTiming his wife and children, and having his assistant shoot video of him for his social media.
After the session, Gutierrez-Reed said she requested the producers grant her more training time, “Particularly with Alec, just because his role is so gun-heavy, and I wanted to make sure he was familiar with his weapon.”
Gutierrez-Reed testified, “I told them that he needed more time to practice his cross draw because I didn’t want him to have complications with it on filming day.”
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Following Gutierrez-Reed's trial, Baldwin, the star and producer of the film, will face trial on involuntary manslaughter charges. His trial was initially scheduled for August but was postponed following a judicial reshuffle. Baldwin pleaded not guilty to the charges.
First assistant director Dave Halls was also charged with negligent use of a deadly weapon but agreed to a plea deal and received six months of unsupervised probation.
