Tue, 21-Oct-2025

Baldwin shooting armorer had ‘no idea’ why live rounds present: lawyer

'I wanted to thank you all': Alec Baldwin thanks supporters

LOS ANGELES, The armorer responsible for weapons on the film set where Alec Baldwin shot and killed a cinematographer has “no idea” why there were live rounds present, her lawyers said Friday.

“Ultimately this set would never have been compromised if live ammo were not introduced,” said the statement from representatives of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. “Hannah has no idea where the live rounds came from.”

The statement is the first public comment from 24-year-old Gutierrez-Reed since Halyna Hutchins died after being shot during the filming of 19th-century Western “Rust” in New Mexico last week.

It comes after days of reports of safety lapses on set, including claims that crew members had used the prop weapons for live-ammunition target practice on the day of the tragedy — a notion Gutierrez-Reed dismissed on Friday.

“Hannah and the prop master gained control over the guns and she never witnessed anyone shoot live rounds with these guns and nor would she permit that,” the statement said.

“They were locked up every night and at lunch and there’s no way a single one of them was unaccounted for or being shot by crew members.”

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Calls to ban guns on movie sets grow after Baldwin shooting

Calls to ban guns on movie sets grow after Baldwin shooting

LOS ANGELES, Calls were multiplying in Hollywood Sunday to ban the use of firearms on movie sets, three days after actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in a shocking on-set tragedy.

A memorial service will be held later Sunday for 42-year-old Hutchins, who was struck in the chest when Baldwin fired a prop gun during the filming of the low-budget Western “Rust”. She died shortly after the incident Thursday in New Mexico.

Director Joel Souza, 48, who was crouching behind her as they lined up a shot, was wounded and hospitalized, then released.

Police are still investigating the shooting, which sparked intense speculation on social media about how such an accident could have occurred despite detailed and long-established gun safety protocols for film sets.

A petition on the website change.org calling for a ban on live firearms on film sets and better working conditions for crews had gathered more than 15,000 signatures by Sunday.

“There is no excuse for something like this to happen in the 21st century,” says the text of the petition launched by Bandar Albuliwi, a screenwriter and director.

Dave Cortese, a Democrat elected to the California Senate, put out a statement on Saturday saying, “There is an urgent need to address alarming work abuses and safety violations occurring on the set of theatrical productions, including unnecessary high-risk conditions such as the use of live firearms.”

He said he intends to push a bill banning live ammunition on movie sets in California.

The hit Los Angeles police drama “The Rookie” decided the day after the shooting to ban all live ammunition from its set, effective immediately, according to industry publication The Hollywood Reporter.

Baldwin, who has spoken of his heartbreak after the killing, is cooperating with the police investigation.

The probe has focused on the specialist in charge of the weapon and the assistant director who handed it to Baldwin, according to an affidavit seen by AFP.

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Movie gunsmith urges ‘absolute caution’ after Baldwin shooting

'I wanted to thank you all': Alec Baldwin thanks supporters

France, A French weapons expert, who has supplied guns to Keanu Reeves and taught Robert de Niro how to shoot, on Friday said he was shaken by the tragic accident on Alec Baldwin’s movie.

In a highly secure storeroom in Seine-Saint-Denis, north of Paris, Christophe Maratier displays hundreds of weapons — from Kalashnikovs to First World War machine guns to the latest automatic guns.

As a gunsmith to the stars, working on many French and international productions, it is a business that demands constant, absolute caution.

“It’s an anxiety-provoking job, we put all our energy into safety to avoid accidents,” he told AFP.

Maratier says he was shocked and grieved by the tragic incident in New Mexico on Wednesday, in which a cinematographer died after Baldwin discharged a prop firearm.

The director was also injured in the apparent accident on the set of “Rust” — where Baldwin is playing the lead in a 19th century Western about an accidental killing.

Maratier is currently working with Keanu Reeves on the latest instalment of his John Wick series, which is filming in Paris.

In France, he said, only modified weapons which cannot fire projectiles are permitted on sets.

But directors “still need real guns that make nice flames,” he added.

So it is common to use guns that fire blanks — a reserve of explosive powder without any projectile.

Just to be sure, actors are also instructed never to fire towards anyone or fire any close-range shots, he said.

Maratier is also charged with instructing the actors on how to carry guns safely — something he did for De Niro on 1990s thriller “Ronin”.

“He was very interested to learn — which was surprising,” he said.

Times are changing, with calls for greater use of fake guns and special effects to recreate shots.

The gunsmith’s fear is an accidental error: the piece of stone that found itself lodged in the weapon when an extra has left it on the ground, or the projectile placed by mistake in the barrel and fired out by the blank.

They must also worry about blinding, burning or deafening people (shots can reach 150 decibels).

Despite all these risks, film-makers still see blanks as a necessity “to give the illusion of a real shot”, said Maratier.

“We are creating a spectacle,” he said, adding that the blanks are often designed to give much more of an explosion than real guns.

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