An attorney for the on-set armorer of Rust has claimed that his client is "being framed" in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, as well as actor Alec Baldwin and assistant director Dave Halls, are all at the center of the ongoing investigation into the accidental shooting that left Hutchins dead and director Joel Souza injured.
On October 21, 63-year-old actor Baldwin was handed a functional prop firearm and discharged a round that left Souza hospitalized and fatally wounded Hutchins.
According to Gutierrez-Reed's lawyer Jason Bowles, his client had nothing to do with the live rounds winding up on set and is hoping the investigation will determine who is responsible for it.
He also believes that the set was "tampered with" before police arrived to investigate the deadly incident.
On Wednesday, November 10, Bowles said in a statement, per Deadline:
"Yesterday, we met with the Santa Fe County Deputy Sheriffs and Hannah continued to cooperate and provided a full interview. Information is coming out that needs to be fully investigated and considered by the District Attorney.
"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 continued:
"We are convinced that this was sabotage and Hannah is being framed. 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.
"This morning we offered to share additional, critical information with the Sheriff’s Office and are awaiting their response on the sharing of information."
Last week, the attorney suggested during an interview on the Today show that a "disgruntled" member of staff may have "sabotaged" the set to "prove a point".
Indeed, it had been reported that dissatisfied crew members had organized a walkout due to poor working conditions and long hours before the shooting.
Per The Guardian, Gutierrez-Reed's attorney previously said in a statement that she was "incredibly safety conscious and took her job very seriously."
He continued: "She did firearms training for the actors as well as Mr. Baldwin, she fought for more training days and she regularly emphasized to never point a firearm at a person.
"Never in a million years did Hannah think that live rounds could have been in the 'dummy' round box."