The attorney for “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed said on Wednesday that she is being “framed” in the on-set shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The attorney, Jason Bowles, raised eyebrows in an appearance on “Today” last week when he alleged the presence of live rounds on the set was “sabotage.”
In a statement on Wednesday, he repeated that charge, and also asserted that evidence was “tampered with” in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 21 shooting. No charges have been filed in the case, though Gutierrez Reed was among many crew members and producers who were sued for negligence on Wednesday by the film’s gaffer.
“We are convinced that this was sabotage and Hannah is being framed,” Bowles said. “We believe that the scene was tampered with as well before the police arrived.”
Gutierrez Reed has previously stated that she has no idea how live rounds made it to the set. On the day of the shooting, she handed the Colt .45 to Dave Halls, the first assistant director, who has admitted to investigators that he did not fully inspect the rounds before handing it to actor Alec Baldwin. Baldwin was preparing for a scene at the Bonanza Creek Ranch when he unholstered the gun and fired, striking Hutchins and director Joel Souza.
Gutierrez Reed met with the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, and has been cooperative with the investigation, her attorney said. The sheriff, Adan Mendoza, said on CNN last week that detectives also wanted to conduct a follow-up interview with Halls, but that Halls had thus far declined on the advice of counsel.
Mendoza has also said other live rounds may have been discovered on the set, in addition to the one that killed Hutchins and lodged in Souza’s shoulder. Deputies seized about 500 rounds from the scene, including blanks and dummy rounds, and sent them to the FBI crime lab in Quantico, Va., for analysis.
“We eagerly await the FBI’s investigation as well and we are asking for a full and complete investigation of all of the facts, including the live rounds themselves, how they ended up in the ‘dummies’ box, and who put them in there,” Bowles said in the statement.
Bowles also said they offered on Wednesday to provide the Sheriff’s office “additional, critical information” and are awaiting a response.
“Information is coming out that needs to be fully investigated and considered by the District Attorney,” Bowles said. “The truth finding process demands that the District Attorney and FBI run down all of the evidence, including the nature of those live rounds.”
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