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The smoking gun that claimed the life of Halyna Hutchins might've been more than just an on-set prop -- it was also being fired recreationally, even when cameras weren't rolling. Multiple sources directly connected to the 'Rust' production tell TMZ ... the same gun Alec Baldwin accidentally fired -- hitting the DP and director -- was being used by crews members off set as well, for what we're told amounted to target practice. We're told this off-the-clock shooting -- which was allegedly happening away from the movie lot -- was being done with real bullets

The “inexperienced” armorer in charge of weapons on set of Alec Baldwin’s movie “Rust” had given a gun to an 11-year-old actress without checking properly for safety, a report said. Hannah Gutierrez Reed, 24, daughter of prominent Hollywood armorer Thell Reed, was head armorer on set in Santa Fe where Baldwin fired a prop gun loaded with a live round, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Gutierrez-Reed’s alleged misstep happened on the set of the upcoming Nicholas Cage film, “The Old Way” and temporarily halted filming, sources told The Daily Beast. “She was reloading the gun on...

Hannah Gutierrez has been identified as the armorer or weapons handler on the movie, “Rust.” According to reports, she laid out three guns on the Santa Fe set. One of them wound up killing Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza, fired by an unwitting Alec Baldwin. Gutierrez’s LinkedIn page includes a resume note from this past spring and summer working at Yellowstone Film Ranch in Montana from March through June. She described her job there: “Loading firearms with appropriately sized blanks. Ensuring gun safety on set along with instructing actors on how to use their guns.” She is young...

The woman responsible for handling weapons on the set of Alec Baldwin's "Rust" had only recently taken on a gig as a head armorer, and shared she had real doubts about doing the job. Hannah Reed -- daughter of Hollywood armorer Thell Reed -- appeared on the "Voices of the West" podcast last month to talk about her new experiences in the biz. Reed told the hosts she had just wrapped a western movie with Nic Cage called "The Old Way" ... and it was her first time as head armorer on a movie. In a now-eerie confession, Reed says...

The armorer and assistant director who handed off a fatal prop gun to Alec Baldwin have been identified, after it was revealed that some crew members walked off the set of the movie Rust over safety concerns before the tragic shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. A search warrant released Friday said that armorer Hanna Gutierrez laid out three prop guns on a cart outside the filming location, and assistant director Dave Halls grabbed the gun from the cart and brought it inside to Baldwin, unaware that it was loaded with live rounds.

An assistant director unwittingly handed Alec Baldwin a loaded weapon and told him it was safe to use in the moments before the actor fatally shot a cinematographer, court records released Friday show. “Cold gun,” the assistant director announced, according to a search warrant filed in a Santa Fe court. Instead, the gun was loaded with live rounds, and when Baldwin pulled the trigger Thursday on the set of a Western, he killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. -snip- According to the records, the gun was one of three that the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez, had set on a cart outside the...

An assistant director on the set of the film Rust—at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe County—retrieved a “prop gun” from a rolling cart and handed it to one of America’s best-known actors on Thursday afternoon. “Cold gun,” the assistant director shouted. Moments later, Alec Baldwin fired a shot that struck cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in the chest and director Joel Souza in the shoulder. -snip- Magistrate Judge John Rysanek signed off on Cano’s request early Friday morning to gather film, video and cameras; live and prop weapons and ammunition, plus documentation of ownership of weapons and ammunition; clothing worn...

The New Mexico set of the indie Western Rust, where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed Thursday by a prop gun “discharged” by star Alec Baldwin, had been having a myriad of issues, including problems related to safety, before the accident, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation. That included at least one previous incident involving a misfiring of a weapon that was used days before in a scene. “A gun had two misfires in a closed cabin,” a source told Deadline. “They just fired loud pops – a person was just holding it in their...

The crew of Alec Baldwin's movie set were already concerned about gun safety before he accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, and they had walked off the set hours before she was killed, after they complained about long hours, shoddy conditions and two other incidents involving the 'misfire' of weapons. The workers had been complaining about the fact they had to stay overnight in Albuquerque - an hour's drive from the set - and not Sante Fe because production wouldn't pay for their hotels, according to sources cited by The Los Angeles Times and multiple social media posts by...

The production of the upcoming western movie Rust came to a tragic halt on Thursday afternoon in New Mexico, after actor and producer Alec Baldwin discharged a prop firearm that resulted in the death of the film’s cinematographer. Halyna Hutchins, 42, was reportedly struck in the stomach and was airlifted to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, where she died, according to Deadline. -snip- “Rule number one, when you’re doing these rehearsals, the firearm, even though it has blanks, it’s never fired at anybody, the angles are always cheated,” Howell says. “Those angles always look to the viewer...

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed on the New Mexico set of the Alec Baldwin film “Rust” after she was shot by a prop gun fired by the film’s star and producer, Alec Baldwin. IATSE Local 44, which covers prop masters, sent an email to its members early Friday morning that said the gun used in the scene contained “a live round” and the production’s propmaster was not a member of Local 44. Director Joel Souza also was hit and injured by a bullet and was treated at an area hospital before being released. -snip- In the email that IATSE Local...

It was one bullet that discharged from the prop gun on the Santa Fe movie “Rust” and killed the director of photography and wounded the movie’s director. An eyewitness on set tells this column that the bullet went straight through the body of DP Halyna Hutchins and into the clavicle of the film’s director Joel Souza. Very quickly the set was locked down. Ambulance and helicopters arrived. Hutchins and Souza were sent straight to the hospital. Hutchins died en route in a helicopter. On the ground, Baldwin was in shock but composed. He kept asking why he was handed a...