Management failed in fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin – regulator

SANTA FE (AP) – Complaints by a movie weapons supervisor to managers went unheeded as she sought more time and resources to fulfill safety duties on the set of the Western movie “Rust,” where actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer, a workplace safety investigator testified at the trial on Tuesday.

Defense attorneys for armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed (in photo) called the inspector among their first witnesses to refute allegations of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal in October 2021.

Lorenzo Montoya, of the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau, conducted a six-month investigation of the shooting and whether managers affiliated with Rust Movie Productions complied with state workplace safety regulations.

His inspection produced a scathing narrative of safety failures in violation of standard industry protocols, including observations that weapons specialists were not allowed to make decisions about additional safety training and did not respond to Gutierrez-Reed’s complaints.

The report also found that managers took limited or no action to address two misfires on set before the fatal shooting and requests to provide more training.

Defense attorneys argue that Gutierrez-Reed, who has pleaded not guilty, is being unfairly scapegoated for problems beyond her control, including Baldwin’s handling of the weapons on the set of the Western movie in 2021.

Montoya said Gutierrez-Reed’s requests for more time and resources as an armorer went unheeded.