Fatal shot on the film set
“Rust” weapons master has to go to prison
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On the set of the Western “Rust,” a camerawoman dies after a shot goes off from actor and producer Alec Baldwin’s gun. In March, a court found the film's weapon master guilty of negligent homicide. The sentence has now been determined.
In the trial surrounding the fatal shot of Hollywood star Alec Baldwin on the set of the western film “Rust”, the weapons master was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter by a jury in March. Since then, she has been held in a county jail on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Prosecutors accused Gutierrez-Reed of unintentionally bringing live ammunition to the “Rust” filming location, where it was expressly forbidden, and of failing to follow basic gun safety procedures. Gutierrez-Reed unsuccessfully argued for a lesser sentence. She told the judge she tried to do her best on set despite not having the “right time, resources and staff.”
Baldwin was handling a gun during a filming rehearsal for the film “Rust” in October 2021 when a shot was fired, killing 42-year-old camerawoman Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. Gutierrez-Reed was in charge of the weapons during production. Baldwin is also a co-producer on the film. He claims that he had no idea that there was a live cartridge in the weapon, which also went off accidentally. The actor's trial is scheduled to begin in July.
Baldwin had also been charged with involuntary manslaughter in January 2023; however, the charges were dropped three months later. After the second arraignment in January of this year, the actor was released on a personal bond, according to court documents.
Filming on “Rust” resumed in Montana last year – with Baldwin in the lead role – after a deal made Hutchins' widower executive producer.
