Father Of ‘Rust’ Armorer Says Sabotage Might Be To Blame For Live Rounds In Gun Used By Alec Baldwin

The father of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the Santa Fe set of the movie Rust, told ABC News that he believes that sabotage was to blame for the loaded gun on the set, leading to weapon discharging as Alec Baldwin was rehearsing a scene on Oct. 21.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed and director Joe Souza was injured in the incident, but sheriff’s investigators are trying to determine why live ammunition was in the weapon Baldwin used.

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Gutierrez-Reed’s father, Thell Reed, himself a veteran armorer in the industry, said that there was “a lot of motive there” for sabotage.

Jason Bowles, Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney, said, “Somebody wanted to cause a safety incident on set. Nobody wanted anybody to be killed. We have developed evidence of motive here. Why they wanted to do that. Why Hannah might have been a target and that has all gone to the sheriff.”

Thell Reed told ABC News’ Good Morning America that after his daughter to assistant director Dave Halls, she stayed outside of the church set where the rehearsal was taking place. He said that it was the first time since the production began that she didn’t directly hand the gun to Baldwin in advance of a rehearsal or scene.  He suggested that his daughter had to tend to dual duties as prop assistant.

Reed said that that had his daughter been inside the church, “She would have re checked that gun, and if there was a live round in there she would have caught it.”

Reed also defended his daughter’s experience, saying that “she has been raised around gun safety since she was a little girl.”

“She doesn’t need more training,” Reed said. “She has got me.”

Bowles said that Gutierrez-Reed “had spun the cylinder, she had given it to Halls, she had shown him each of the six rounds. Halls was going to take custody of that weapon.” He said that sabotage “is the most likely possibility. Probability.” He has previously said that he believes that someone may have “intended to sabotage this set with a live round intentionally placed in a box of dummies.”

Baldwin told ABC News in an interview last week that he has no idea how the live ammunition on the set, but he said that it was “overwhelmingly likely” that the incident was accidental.

Sabotage, Baldwin said, is “an enormous charge to make, that someone came and did something, for what purpose? To attack who? To discredit who? To harm me? The production? What was their motive in doing that, if somebody did that?”

On Thursday, Baldwin is scheduled to make his first formal public appearance, as the emcee of the Ripple of Hope Award Gala held by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation. Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to be the keynote speaker.

The complete interview below.

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