The trial of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the set of the film “Rust” where a tragic accident occurred resulting in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, has shed light on the mystery of how live ammunition ended up on the set in the first place.
Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and faces up to 18 months in prison for failing to check that the rounds she loaded into Alec Baldwin’s revolver were dummies. The prosecution focused on evidence that pointed to Gutierrez-Reed as the source of the live rounds, including a photo of her holding a gun with live ammunition on her lap.
However, the defense tried to shift the blame to the film’s primary weapons and ammunition supplier, Seth Kenney, who testified that he had supplied dummy rounds to the set but not live ammunition. The defense also raised questions about the initial investigation, highlighting a delay in searching Kenney’s office that could have allowed for evidence tampering.
One key piece of evidence presented during the trial was a box of ammunition labeled as “45 LONG COLT DUMMIES” that Gutierrez-Reed had retrieved rounds from. Investigators found a live round in that box, along with others scattered around the set.
The trial also revealed that after the shooting, the head of props, Sarah Zachry, unloaded two other guns that had been loaded with what she thought were dummies and threw the rounds away in a trash can. Zachry testified that she was in a state of shock and panic and did not intend to hide evidence.
The verdict in Gutierrez-Reed’s trial has brought some closure to the case, but the question of how live ammunition ended up on the set of “Rust” remains a haunting mystery that continues to trouble everyone involved in the tragic incident.
