Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the armorer on the set of “Rust” where the cinematographer was just accidentally shot and killed, recently said on a podcast that the best part of her job is showing people that guns aren’t as scary as one may think.
“I think the best part about my job is just showing people who are normally kind of freaked out by guns how safe they can be and how they’re not really problematic unless put in the wrong hands,” Reed said on “Voices of the West” podcast.
Reed, 24, revealed “Rust” was her second movie where she was in charge of the weapons on set. Her father, Thell Reed, is also a well-known Hollywood armorer.
On Thursday, Halyna Hutchins was shot with a prop gun fired by actor Alec Baldwin. “Rust” director Joel Souza was also wounded but will recover.
ALEC BALDWIN ‘RUST’ SHOOTING: SEARCH WARRANT DESCRIBES MOMENTS ARE DISCHARGE: LIVE UPDATES
Reed also said on the podcast that “loading blanks” into a prop gun is the “scariest thing to me.”
“You have to like look at the front of it and determine which one is the blank, if it’s dummied up. That’s how I tell at least,” she explained. “Every movie I’m learning new and new things — it’s all very quick.”
Baldwin was reportedly very careful with firearms on the set of “Rust” prior to the accidental shooting.
Actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on the set of a Western being filmed at the ranch on Thursday, Oct. 21, killing the cinematographer, officials said.
(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Reid Russell, a camera operator who was working on the film’s set that day, noted to detectives in a newly released affidavit that Baldwin was very careful when it came to the use of prop firearms while filming prior to the incident.
According to the warrant affidavit, which was obtained by Fox News, Russell actually commended the 63-year-old actor for his conduct during a prior scene that involved discharging a firearm. He noted that the actor observed all the safety protocols and even did an extra check-in with the crew to make sure no one was near him. Specifically, he made sure a child who was on set that day wasn’t anywhere near him when discharging the weapon.
This aerial photo shows the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, N.M., Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021.
(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Unfortunately, Baldwin was reportedly told by assistant director Dave Halls that the gun he was working with when Hutchins was shot was a “cold gun,” a term used when a firearm being worked with on a set is not loaded with any live ammunition. Unfortunately, it seems the gun was in fact loaded. When Baldwin pulled the trigger while working with Souza and Hutchins to set up a shot, it went off resulting in one of the worst on-set tragedies in recent memory.
ALEC BALDWIN DISCHARGED PROP GUN THAT KILLED ‘RUST’ CREW MEMBER ON FILM SET: AUTHORITIES
In the warrant from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office, Souza explained that he heard “what sounded like a whip and then a loud pop,” and noticed Hutchins, who he was standing behind at the time, grab her midsection as she stumbled backward. She “was assisted to the ground” by other crew members and Russell recalls Hutchins saying she could not feel her legs.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (left) was killed in the incident while director Joel Souza (right) was injured. He has since left the hospital.
(Getty Images)
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“The safety of our cast and crew is the top priority of Rust Productions and everyone associated with the company,” Rust Movie Productions said in a statement to multiple outlets. “Though we were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set, we will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down. We will continue to cooperate with the Santa Fe authorities in their investigation and offer mental health services to the cast and crew during this tragic time.”
Fox News’ Tyler McCarthy contributed to this report.
