Rust armorer testifies Alec Baldwin didn’t take firearm training seriously, was constantly texting, FaceTiming, and having his assistant shoot videos of him with a firearm for Instagram

Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 27, testified on Thursday that actor Alec Baldwin failed to take firearm training sessions seriously before production began for the upcoming Western movie Rust.

Gutierrez-Reed claimed that Baldwin spent a lot of his time during the training sessions texting on his phone, having his assistant shoot videos of him with a firearm for Instagram, and FaceTiming his wife and children, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

"I walked in, and I said, 'All right, Alec. I’m going to be your armorer. We’re going to go over how to shoot all your weapons, how to load them, how to make them safe, and we’re going to make sure that you really know — that you look like you know what you’re doing,'" she testified to OHSB.

After the session, Gutierrez-Reed testified that she had requested more training time with Baldwin because "his role is so gun-heavy, and I wanted to make sure he was familiar with his weapon."

"I told them that he needed more time to practice his cross draw because I didn’t want him to have complications with it on filming day," said the armorer and props assistant, who reportedly failed to get more training time with Baldwin before filming began.

Gutierrez-Reed, who is the most likely to go to jail among all of the defendants, said that she was berated by Rust line producer Gabrielle Pickle in an email on Oct. 14, 2021. Pickle complained that she was focusing too much of her time on Armor and "not supporting props as needed."

The armorer explained to Pickle that the armorer job was "a very serious job and since we’ve started I’ve had a lot of days where my job should only be to focus on the guns and everyone’s safety. There are working guns on set every day, and those are ultimately going to be a priority because when they are not, that’s when dangerous mistakes can happen."

According to the OHSB report, Gutierrez-Reed sent a text message to Pickle on Oct. 17 that said, "Hey, we’re on day 8 of Armor days. So if there’s gunfire after this you may want to talk to the producers."

Pickle replied, "No more trading (sic) days."

Gutierrez-Reed asked, “Training days?"

Pickle responded, "Like training Alec and such."

There were two accidental discharges the day before the shooting. The armorer testified that she was overwhelmed by having to perform two jobs, and requested more days where should could solely focus on Armor.

"If I give a safety recommendation, usually I could get … I could get rolled over in some aspects," she testified to the OHSB. "If I thought I needed more time or something to prepare for a scene, I could be told to hurry up. I could be told, 'No, we need to do it now.'"

On the day of the deadly shooting, in which Alec Baldwin pointed a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and fired two rounds killing her, prosectors argue that Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for the live ammunition in the gun's chamber.

Citing images from the filming and pictures from other sources, including Gutierrez-Reed's phone, that indicate live rounds present on the set on at least four other days, prosecutors argue that Gutierrez-Reed was the source of the live ammunition.

Prosecutors will have to prove that live rounds came from the same box of fake rounds that Gutierrez-Reed acknowledged carrying onto the set and pulling from on the day of the shooting in a follow-up interview with detectives. They say they have text messages that Gutierrez-Reed received on September 3, 2021, from her father, implying that she would have had that particular kind of ammo before the incident. "Have you located any .45 Colt ammo?" her father said in a text message, with a follow-up message sent an hour later that said, "Keep looking."
 

Leni Calas, who has done armory work for shows including Law & Order: SVU, Damages and Boardwalk Empire, told the Hollywood Reporter: "With five guns on the set, Hannah should have had at least one assistant."

“You can’t hold that many guns in two hands," explained Calas.

Gutierrez-Reed is scheduled to stand trial in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Feb. 21. She faces involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering charges. On Feb 14., her attorney filed a motion to dismiss, which was rejected by a judge.

Actor Alec Baldwin will go on trial after Gutierrez-Reed. He faces involuntary manslaughter charges and has maintained his innocence. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.