Nearly
three
months
after
the
fatal
shooting
of
a
cinematographer
on
the
set
of
the
western

Rust,
the
film’s
armourer
Hannah
Gutierrez
Reed,
has
sued
the
prop
supplier,
claiming
that
live
ammunition
had
been
provided
to
the
film
crew
instead
of
only
dummy
rounds.

On
October
21,
2021,
during
a

Rust
rehearsal
at
a
ranch
in
Santa
Fe,
New
Mexico,
actor
Alec
Baldwin
was
holding
a
loaded
revolver
that
went
off
while
he
was
pointing
it
at
cinematographer
Halyna
Hutchins.
Hutchins
died
of
gunshot
wound.
Director
Joel
Souza
was
also
injured.

Baldwin
has
denied
pulling
the
trigger,
saying
the
gun
discharged.
Both
he
and
Gutierrez
Reed,
the
armourer
who
is
responsible
for
firearms,
ammunition
and
training
on
the
film
set,
have
said
they
had
“no
idea” why
live
bullets
were
present
on
set
when
there
weren’t
supposed
to
be
any.

Loaded
–
but
dummy
or
live?

Gutierrez
Reed
filed
the
lawsuit
in
a
New
Mexico
state
district
court.
The
lawsuit
blames
ammunition
supplier
Seth
Kenney
and
his
PDQ
Arm
&
Prop
for
providing
live
rounds
in
a
box
that
was
only
supposed
to
include
dummy
rounds.
Dummy
ammunition
has
no
gunpowder
and
is
inert.

“The
introduction
of
live
rounds
onto
the
set,
which
no
one
anticipated,
combined
with
the
rushed
and
chaotic
atmosphere,
created
a
perfect
storm
for
a
safety
incident,”
the
lawsuit
states,
adding
that
Gutierrez
Reed
loaded
the
gun
with
what
she
believed
were
six
dummy
rounds.
It
also
said
she
had
given
up
control
of
the
gun
for
15
minutes
before
the
shooting
due
to
COVID
protocols.

Supplier
Kenney
has
said
that
his
company
did
not
provide
live
ammunition
to
the
set.

Investigation
continues

A
state
investigation
into
the
shooting
is
ongoing,
with
New
Mexico
officials
saying
it
is
too
early
to
file
any
criminal
charges,
but
that
they
have
not
ruled
out
charges
against
anyone
involved,
including
Baldwin.
As
part
of
the
investigation,
officials
recovered
ammunition
from
the
set
that
included
blanks,
dummy
rounds
and
what
seemed
to
be
live
rounds.

In
December
2021,
state
investigators
said
a
weapon
rental
supplier
may
have
provided
“reloaded
ammunition”
that
matched
the
cartridge
suspected
to
have
contained
the
live
round
that
killed
Hutchins.
Reloaded
ammunition
is
made
up
of
recycled
parts,
including
bullets.

Investigators
have
also
said
the
weapons
were
handled
on
set
with
“some
complacency.”

cmb/eg
(Reuters,
AP)

DW
News