Alec Baldwin shot the operator. There is a verdict in the murder case on the set of “Rust”

Hannah Gutierrez Reed is the first person to be sentenced in the trial following the murder of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “”. The fatal shooting occurred in 2021 – Hutchins died as a result of the wound she received after he shot at her. The actor was allegedly unaware that he was using a gun loaded with real bullets, and Hannah Gutierrez Reed was responsible for its condition.

Verdict in a murder case on the set of “Rust” with Alec Baldwin

Hannah Gutierrez Reed was found guilty last Wednesday. The woman will spend 18 months in prison for unintentional manslaughter. She was supposed to load the gun that Baldwin later used on the set with real bullets, although the gun was still supposed to contain only blanks. The judges agreed that Gutierrez Reed knowingly violated safety regulations and may have been aware that the consequence of her act could be the death of anyone at whom the gun was fired.

The prosecution argued that the woman knew that it was her duty to check the weapon each time before handing it over to the actors. “It was her job to check everything,” said judge Alberto Sanchez at a short press conference after the verdict. The defense tried to convince the judges that the armorer was the victim of errors at the level of organizing the film set. She didn’t have enough time to check her weapons every time. They also tried to point out that real and fake bullets delivered by the supplier looked and sounded exactly the same (weapons are checked partially by ear – blanks when shaken sound different than real bullets). However, the prosecution alleged that due to Gutierrez Reed’s carelessness and clutter in keeping the box of bullets, the blanks and live ammunition were mixed up, resulting in the death of Halyna Hutchins and the serious injury of director Joel Souza.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Photo REUTERS/Jim Weber/the New Mexican

Alec Baldwin, who pulled the trigger on the set, is still awaiting his trial. Regardless of the sentence the gunsmith received, the actor is not necessarily completely innocent. He acted contrary to the script, aiming the gun straight at the camera, although he himself may not have been aware that the gun contained live ammunition. Baldwin has also maintained that the gun fired spontaneously after he cocked it. Baldwin, as a co-producer of the film, was also aware that there were no strict safety rules on the set – investigators claimed a year ago that he had received information about a potential danger on the set, but the actor ignored it.