The accident which cost the life of a filmmaker on the set of “Rust” could be the consequence of “sabotage”, Lawyers representing the gunsmith who loaded the lethal weapon used by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal said on Wednesday. The American actor shot dead the director of photography on Thursday, October 21 and seriously injured the director of the western “Rust” he was filming in the US state of New Mexico.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was the gunsmith in charge of this western shot in New Mexico, where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally injured on October 21. She was hit by a live bullet that was in the revolver that had been handed to Alec Baldwin and presented it to him as a harmless weapon.
Lawyers for the young gunsmith claimed on NBC television that their client loaded the gun with ammunition from a box of dummy cartridges, and thatshe did not know anything about the origin of the real bullet responsible for the accident. “We’re assuming someone must have put the actual ammunition in that box. If you think about it, the person who put that live ammunition in the dummy cartridge box must have wanted to sabotage the set.”, said Jason Bowles.
No arrests have taken place at this stage of the investigation but justice did not rule out possible criminal proceedings if responsibilities were established. The Santa Fe County Sheriff, who is overseeing the investigation, said “that there was a certain carelessness on this plateau”. Many media have mentioned the departure of operators employed on the set a few hours before the tragedy, due in particular to concerns about safety instructions and demands on their working conditions.