Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed found guilty of involuntary manslaughter

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was the on-set armorer for the film Rust when a firearm discharged a real bullet and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins

By Matt Schimkowitz | March 6, 2024 | 11:37pm

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Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed found guilty of involuntary manslaughter

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Photo: Jim Weber-Pool

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the on-set armorer during the tragic Rust shooting, has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, per The Los Angeles Times. The decision comes after days of depressing and frustrating testimony from those on the production. The New Mexico jury deliberated for two hours before handing down the verdict, following 10 days of testimony. The jury characterized her actions as “willful disregard” for safety procedures. Gutierrez-Reed faces up to 18 months in prison.

Gutierrez-Reed was charged with manslaughter and evidence tampering after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed when a firearm held by Alec Baldwin was discharged on the set of the independent film Rust. The trial painted two different versions of Gutierrez-Reed. The defense argued the armorer is a “scapegoat for all the management failures.” The prosecution said that she was everything from hungover to having a “complete lack of understanding of her role of safety on this movie set.” Prosecutors placed all blame for the killing on Gutierrez-Reed’s shoulders, arguing that she was responsible for checking the rounds inside a gun held by Alec Baldwin. Baldwin faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and 18 months in prison if found guilty.

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Gutierrez-Reed’s trial was two weeks of heart-wrenching testimony, revealing the array of oversights and mistakes that led to a tragically preventable accident. The defense argued that Gutierrez-Reed was placed in an unwinnable position on set. Producers expected Gutierrez-Reed, an inexperienced armorer on her first solo job, to also perform the role of prop assistant, which she was contracted for that day. Technically, she wasn’t a working armorer on the day of the shooting and was being paid as a prop assistant. Furthermore, being that it’s an independent production, she was often rushed through gun safety measures. For example, Gutierrez-Reed testified that the first assistant director, Dave Halls, told her, “We don’t have time” for a weapons check on the day of the shooting. Last year, Halls took a plea deal and has fulfilled his six months of unsupervised probation.

An Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation determined that Gutierrez-Reed could not be expected to “conduct her duties to the best of diligence.”

“The employer is asking an individual to perform multiple safety-related functions for them while also telling them that they’re spending too much time engaging in those safety-related functions,” said OSHA investigator Lorenzo Montoya.

In closing arguments, prosecutors argued that her entire job was safety, arguing that if Gutierrez-Reed knew Mr. Baldwin was “loose,” as special prosecutor Kerri Morrisey characterized the situation, then “it’s her job to say to an A-List actor, if that’s what you want to call him, ‘Hey, you can’t behave that way with those firearms.’” Undoubtedly, the historically very chill Alec Baldwin would’ve listened to a lowly, underpaid, inexperienced armorer on her first real job. Ultimately, though, the jury sided with Morrisey’s arguments.

“Hannah Gutierrez loaded live ammunition into a firearm,” Morrissey said. “The astonishing lack of diligence with regard to gun safety is, without question, a significant cause of the death of Halyna Hutchins.”

Morrisey, who also indicted Baldwin in the shooting, condemned his behavior, too. His trial is set to begin on July 9.

“Alec Baldwin’s conduct and his lack of gun safety in the church that day is something he’s going to have to answer for,” she said. “Not with you, not today. That’s for another jury for another day.”