The armourer on the movie Rust has said she has “no idea” where the live rounds found on set came from.
The fatal shooting took place last week when actor Alec Baldwin accidentally fired a round that killed the film’s cinematographer and injured the director on the set in New Mexico.
A statement from Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys on Thursday said she’s “devastated and completely beside herself over the events that have transpired”.
The Director of Photography Halyna Hutchins died from her injuries, while Director Joel Souza survived after being hit in the shoulder.
The New Mexico shooting remains under investigation by law enforcement and no charges have yet been filed in the case.
“Safety is Hannah’s number one priority on set. Ultimately this set would never have been compromised if live ammo were not introduced. Hannah has no idea where the live rounds came from,” the statement said, NBC News reported.
Court documents have stated that Assistant Director Dave Halls shouted “cold gun” as he handed the firearm to Mr Baldwin to indicate to the film crew that the weapon had no live rounds. A search warrant affidavit has revealed that Mr Halls told authorities that he should have been more thorough when checking the gun after he noticed a difference in the rounds.
Jason Bowles and Robert Gorence, the lawyers representing Ms Gutierrez-Reed, said the weapons used were locked away at night as well as during lunch breaks, but they added that she was stretched thin and that she pushed for more training while juggling multiple roles.
“Hannah was hired on two positions on this film, which made it extremely difficult to focus on her job as an armourer,” the statement from the lawyers said.
“She fought for training, days to maintain weapons and proper time to prepare for gunfire but ultimately was overruled by production and her department. The whole production set became unsafe due to various factors, including lack of safety meetings,” they added.
Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe County, where the shooting occurred, is often used to film Western-style films.
NBC News reported that the prop gun had misfired previously. When referencing an “accidental discharge” of a firearm, Ms Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys said she had never experienced one.
“The first one on this set was the prop master and the second was a stunt man after Hannah informed him his gun was hot with blanks,” the statement from the lawyers said.
The “lead projectile” that killed Ms Hutchins has been recovered from Mr Souza’s shoulder.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said it was a “suspected live round”.
During the investigation, around 500 rounds were taken from the set, including blanks, dummy rounds and what Sheriff Mendoza said was suspected live rounds.
“There was some complacency on this set,” he said on Wednesday.
