EXCLUSIVE: Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the armorer on the “Rust” set where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was accidentally shot and killed, is still reeling from the tragedy that sent shockwaves through Hollywood and beyond.
In a Fox News Digital exclusive, Gutierrez Reed explained she isn’t yet ready to address the matter.
“It’s only been two weeks, and I’m not ready to speak on it yet,” Gutierrez Reed told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “That’ll come,” she added in an irritated yet somber tone.
“At this point in time, I’m just referring and directing everyone to my lawyers,” she added.
An attorney for the 24-year-old told Fox News Digital, “She will first be cooperating with law enforcement on their investigation.”
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Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed on Oct. 21 on the set of ‘Rust’ after actor Alec Baldwin discharged a gun he was told was “cold,” or unloaded. The shot also left director Joel Souza injured.
(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong | Photo by Fred Hayes/Getty Images for SAGindie)
Gutierrez Reed’s father, Thell Reed, who is a well-known Hollywood armorer, declined to speak to Fox News Digital but relayed that he “wasn’t there” and didn’t have any more to add.
On Oct. 21, Hutchins was shot with a gun discharged by actor Alec Baldwin, who was told the firearm was “cold” — unloaded — during a rehearsal for the Western film. The movie’s director, Joel Souza, was also wounded but is expected to recover.
Gutierrez Reed, who was working on her second film as a lead armorer, was one of three people who handled the weapon before Baldwin fired it.
Last week, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said the investigation is largely focused on how a live round made its way to the set of the film.
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Speaking on the “Today” show Wednesday, Gutierrez Reed’s attorneys, Jason Bowles and Robert Gorence, claimed that the bullets their client loaded into the gun on the day of the shooting were taken from a box that was only supposed to contain dummy rounds that were incapable of firing.
However, because the ammunition was left unattended from roughly 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. that day, they believe the opportunity was there for a disgruntled crew member to mix a live round into the box.
“We don’t know, however, whether that live round came from that box,” Bowles said. “We’re assuming it did. We’re assuming somebody put that live round in that box, which, if you think about that, the person who put the live round in the box of dummy rounds had to have the purpose of sabotaging the set. There’s no other reason you would do that. That you would mix that live round with the dummy rounds.”
The attorneys stopped short of making an allegation against anyone, calling the idea of intentional sabotage just one of many working theories that they are investigating.
Gutierrez Reed previously shot down speculation that she was to blame for the tragic mishap and said she pushed for safety meetings on the Baldwin-produced film but was rebuffed at every turn.
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In a statement made through her attorneys last week, Gutierrez Reed blamed rushed conditions on the low-budget set for the catastrophic casualty. She also disputed rumors that the crew used live ammunition for target practice and denied responsibility for two discharges that happened previously.
“Safety is Hannah’s number one priority on set,” her attorneys said. “Ultimately, this set would never have been compromised if live ammo were not introduced. Hannah has no idea where the live rounds came from.”
Director of photography Halyna Hutchins (left) was killed in the incident while director Joel Souza (right) was injured.
(Getty Images)
The statement notes that Gutierrez Reed continues to assert her claim that she never witnessed live rounds used in any of the guns she handled for “Rust.” The attorneys also noted that she would not allow the use of live rounds under any circumstances.
Fox News’ Tyler McCarthy contributed to this report.
