Alec Baldwin movie armorer is 'being framed' in fatal shooting, attorney claims

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A lawyer for “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed claims she’s “being framed” in the ongoing investigation into the fatal shooting that took the life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins last month.

In a new statement released Wednesday, Jason Bowles, one of the attorneys representing Gutierrez Reed, 24, doubled down on his previous claim that “sabotage” took place on the movie set last month before Alec Baldwin fired the gun that claimed Hutchins’ life and injured director Joel Souza.

“We are convinced that this was sabotage and Hannah is being framed,” Bowles said via New York Post. “We believe that the scene was tampered with as well before the police arrived. The truth finding process demands that the District Attorney and FBI run down all of the evidence, including the nature of those live rounds.”

Bowles also claimed his office “offered to share additional, critical information” with the Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday and was waiting to hear back on their response to it.

An aerial view of the film set on Bonanza Creek Ranch where Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins
(Reuters)

Gutierrez Reed met with authorities from the Santa Fe County Deputy Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, he added.

“Hannah continued to cooperate and provided a full interview,” he said. “Information is coming out that needs to be fully investigated and considered by the District Attorney.”

Bowles said is team is “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.”

Hours before Bowles released the statement, Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies appeared on “Good Morning America” to debunk claims of “sabotage” on set.

A sign directs people to the road that leads to the Bonanza Creek Ranch where the movie "Rust" was being filmed on October 22, 2021 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Director of Photography Halyna Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza was injured on set while filming the movie "Rust" at Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe on October 21. 
(Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images  |  Photo by Fred Hayes/Getty Images for SAGindie)

“I know that some defense attorneys have come up with conspiracy theories and have used the word ‘sabotage.’ We do not have any proof,” Carmack-Altwies said.

Speaking to the controversy surrounding how live rounds ended up on the movie set in Santa Fe, the county district attorney said, “We don’t have an answer to that yet.”

Speaking on the “Today” show last week, Bowles and a second attorney for Gutierrez Reed, Robert Gorence, claimed that the bullets their client loaded into the gun on the day of the shooting were taken from a box that was only supposed to contain dummy rounds that were incapable of firing. However, because the ammunition was left unattended from roughly 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. that day, they believe the opportunity was there for a disgruntled crew member to mix a live round into the box. 

Carmack-Altwies then said if it were to be found that someone did, in fact, “sabotage” the set by placing live rounds in the vicinity of the cast and crew, her office would be looking at “certainly a higher level of murder charge than we would potentially be looking at with the facts we have now.”

Alec Baldwin fired the gun on the set of "Rust" that killed Halyna Hutchins and injured Joel Souza. 
(Jim Spellman/Getty Images)

“The defense attorneys, we don’t have the same information that they do. But until we have it in our hands, it doesn’t play into the decision-making process,” Carmack-Altwies continued.

She added that its her understanding more live rounds were found on the set than just the one that ultimately took Hutchins’ life and injured director Joel Souza. She failed to release the amount that has been found but noted that she’s “absolutely” concerned with the amount of live rounds found.

“We still don’t know how they got on the set and how they got there I think will be one of the most important factors going into a charging decision. It’s probably more important to focus on what led up to the shooting because the moment of the shooting we know that at least Mr. Baldwin had no idea that the gun was loaded so it’s more how did that gun get loaded, what levels of failure happened and were those levels of failure criminal,” Carmack-Altwies said.

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