Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of death. Reader’s discretion is advised.
In April 2024, the court convicted Hannah Gutierrez-Reed of involuntary manslaughter for the 2021 shooting incident that occurred on the set of Alec Baldwin’s film Rust. Reports indicate that the incident happened during a break in the filming and killed cinematographer Hayla Hutchins. Subsequently, authorities arrested Gutierrez-Reed and charged her with involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence. After the armorer went on trial, the jury found her guilty of involuntary manslaughter. The court then sentenced her to 18 months in prison.
For the uninitiated, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is a professional armorer and has worked on several projects to ensure the safe use of prop weapons on film sets. According to Newsweek, Gutierrez-Reed is the daughter of a renowned armorer, Thell Reed. The outlet mentioned that Thell has worked with some of the biggest Hollywood stars like Brad Pitt. The publication also stated that Rust was Gutierrez-Reed’s second film as the lead armorer. However, when the lead armorer went on trial, many startling details about her negligence on the sets came out.
Citing the prosecutors, CNN reported that Hannah Guttirrez-Reed didn’t care about safety protocols and neglected her duties. Moreover, she failed to conduct safety checks on the prop weapon and the ammunition. Afterward, she gave the weapon to an unauthorized staff member and left the area before Alec Baldwin fired the shot. The assistant director, David Halls, admitted that he didn’t check the gun appropriately. He took a plea deal and received six months of unsupervised probation.
On the other hand, the jury found Hannah Gutierrez-Reed guilty in the shooting incident. The court sentenced her to 18 months in prison. She is currently at a New Mexico women’s correctional facility, per People Magazine.
What is Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s role in Rust actor Alec Baldwin’s trial?
According to a new motion filed in Alec Baldwin’s case, the prosecutors asked the court to compel Hannah Gutierrez-Reed to testify. People Magazine reported that Baldwin included Gutierrez-Reed as a witness on his list. The state also listed her as a witness, which means the state holds the power to call any witness listed by the actor’s team. The prosecution stated, “Presumably Defendant Baldwin named Ms. Gutierrez as a witness so his counsel can obtain potentially exculpatory information.”
On the other hand, the court documents also showed what Hannah Gutierrez-Reed can testify about. The documents read, “Ms. Gutierrez would testify that Mr. Baldwin was inattentive during the firearms training session she conducted with him.” Moreover, she would tell the court about how Alec Baldwin became “upset” and have “emotional fits.”
According to Reuters, the trial of Alec Baldwin is going to begin on July 10.
