‘Rust’ criminal trial: Testimony underway after opening statements
SANTA FE, N.M. — Attorneys delivered opening statements Thursday morning in the first criminal trial in the case of the deadly “Rust” movie set shooting.
BACKGROUND
Actor Alec Baldwin was holding a prop gun on the set near Santa Fe in October 2021 when the gun fired a live round. The shooting left cinematographer Halyna Hutchins dead and director Joel Souza wounded.
Investigators say Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was in charge of all guns and ammunition on the set near Santa Fe. Prosecutors charged her with involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence.
While Baldwin also faces an involuntary manslaughter charge, Gutierrez-Reed is the first to go on trial.
The heart of this case is figuring out how much of a role she had in live ammo being on set. A bigger possible question is, “Who else was responsible for safety on set?”
OPENING STATEMENTS
Prosecutors on Thursday laid out their road map for the trial with two questions:
- What were the events that happened on the set that led to the death of Halyna Hutchins?
- How did live ammunition end up on the set?
They alleged Gutierrez-Reed wasn’t consistent in her job, saying she would “haphazardly” check the ammunition going into the prop guns – or not at all.
Defense attorneys first acknowledged the tragedy but told the jury a tragedy doesn’t mean a crime occurred. Then, they said prosecutors and the production are trying to use Gutierrez-Reed as a scapegoat.
Attorneys also said OSHA fined the production for a lack of safety standards on set. They added that Gutierrez-Reed asked for help multiple times but was denied and was required to work as both the armorer and the prop assistant.
Gutierrez-Reed had only worked on one other set as an armorer before she was hired on “Rust.”
TESTIMONY
Images were presented, comparing live ammo and dummy bullets, before the first witnesses took to the stand.
Prosecutors called to the stand multiple witnesses who were Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputies at the time of the shooting and responded to the set. The state walked the jury through the deputies’ body camera footage as evidence.