Ammunitions supplier says only dummy rounds were supplied to Rust movie set

5 March 2024, 02:04

Baldwin Set Shooting
Baldwin Set Shooting. Picture: PA

Although he was handling live rounds from another production involving Rust armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s step-father.

An ammunition supplier testified at trial on Monday that he only provided inert dummy rounds to the western film Rust, where actor Alex Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021.

However, he was also handling live rounds from another production.

Albuquerque-based movie firearms and ammunition supplier Seth Kenney took the stand at the trial of Rust movie armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the death of the cinematographer.

Mr Kenney told a jury he cleaned and repackaged ammunition to Rust that was previously supplied to a production in Texas, handing off a box of 50 inert dummy rounds containing no gunpower to the Rust props supervisor on October 12, 2021.

Rust incident
Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office footage showing actor Alec Baldwin practicing drawing his revolver on the set of the Rust movie (Santa Fe County Sheriff/PA)

Mr Kenney also said he scrubbed the exterior of the rounds and cleaned out residue inside each of them to ensure the tell-tale rattle of a metal pellet inside dummy rounds could be heard for safety purposes.

The outcome of the trial may hinge on testimony about the source of six live rounds discovered on the Rust set — including the one from Mr Baldwin’s gun. The industry and union guidelines expressly prohibited live ammunition on movie sets.

Prosecutors say Gutierrez-Reed is to blame for unwittingly bringing live ammunition on set and that she flouted basic safety protocols for weapons handling. She has pleaded not guilty.

Defence lawyers say their client is being smeared and unfairly scapegoated for problems beyond her control, including Mr Baldwin’s handling of the weapons.

On Monday, they highlighted images of Mr Kenney’s “cluttered” business, a storage system without written inventories, and his “hazy” recollection of his timeline for receiving live rounds for another production.

Mr Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer on Rust, was separately indicted by a grand jury last month on an involuntary manslaughter charge in connection with the fatal shooting of Ms Hutchins.

He has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is scheduled for July.

Mr Baldwin was pointing the gun at Ms Hutchins during a rehearsal on the set outside of Santa Fe when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.

In Monday’s testimony, Mr Kenney said he provided Rust props master Sarah Zachry, who also managed weapons and ammunition for the production, with dummy ammunition retrieved from a props storage truck on the Texas set of the television series 1883.

“Did you ever give any live ammunition to Sarah Zachry?” prosecutor Kari Morrissey asked Mr Kenney. He responded: “No.”

Responding to additional questions, Mr Kenney said on Monday that he did not have any ammunition that looked like the live rounds investigators found on the set of Rust.

Rust incident
Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office footage showing actor Alec Baldwin on the set of the movie Rust following the shooting of Halyna Hutchins (Santa Fe County Sheriff/PA)

At the same time, Mr Kenney acknowledged he stored live rounds that were used in a live-ammunition shooting exercise for actors on 1883, arranged at a private ranch of series creator Taylor Sheridan.

Mr Kenney said the live rounds from that shooting exercise were brought back to his shop and stored in a bathroom in a grey plastic container marked “live rounds” outside.

The live rounds were initially provided to 1883 by Gutierrez-Reed’s step-father, the Hollywood sharpshooter and weapons consultant Thell Reed.

Investigators from the Santa Fe sheriff’s office searched Mr Kenney’s Albuquerque supply shop several weeks after the fatal shooting, seizing live rounds that were sent to the FBI for analysis and comparison with live rounds discovered on the set of Rust.

Defence lawyer Jason Bowles has argued that Mr Kenney was not adequately investigated for his role as a Rust supplier.

Mr Bowles on Monday highlighted the fact that the search of Mr Kenney’s business took place about a month after the fatal shooting.

Mr Kenney’s testimony also delved into his disagreements with Gutierrez-Reed about her job performance on the set of Rust in connection with a gun misfire — before the fatal shooting.

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

Video footage shows the convoy had emergency lights flashing when it was hit

Israel admits ‘mistakenly’ killing 15 aid workers after video leak contradicted official version of events

Jaguar Land Rover has paused shipments to the US in the wake of 'Liberation Day' tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover halts shipments to US in wake of tariffs as Trump insists he'll win 'economic revolution'

Flowers and toys left on a swing seat to commemorate victims killed in Russia's missile attack on Friday

Death toll from Russian strike on Zelenskyy's home town rises as 18 confirmed dead - including nine children

Donald Trump's 10% tariff on UK products has officially come into force

Trump tariffs come into force as global stock markets plunge deeper into the red

Tom Howard

British tourist killed after being struck by boulder on trek through Himalayas

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, a car burns following a Russian missile attack that killed more than a dozen people, including children, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, Friday, April 4, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Russia kills 16 people including three children in missile strike on Zelenskyy's home town, with dozens wounded

Travel influencer Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, made an illegal visit to North Sentinel Island

Tourist who left Coke for world's most isolated tribe 'could have wiped them all out' - and police 'can't go collect can'

White House weighs in to support ‘censored’ anti-abortion activists in Britain

White House looking to support ‘censored’ anti-abortion activists in Britain

This image provided by NASA shows Nick Hague, right, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore. (NASA via AP)

Stranded NASA astronauts reveal they were almost trapped in space 'forever' after horror malfunction

Donald Trump demands France 'free Marine Le Pen'

Donald Trump demands France 'free Marine Le Pen' after far-right leader found guilty of embezzlement in 'witch hunt'

China will impose a 34% retaliatory tariff on imports from the US

China announces additional 34% tariffs on US imports in retaliation over Trump's 'Liberation Day' levies

Friends of Prince Andrew say he's "unsurprised" Giuffre made the post

Prince Andrew 'not surprised' his accuser shared shock post saying she had 'four days to live'

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol

South Korea president Yoon Suk Yeol removed from office as impeachment upheld over martial law declaration

Virginia Giuffre

Woman driving Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre during crash that left her with 'four days to live' breaks silence

Exclusive
'Donald Trump has made Putin comfortable,' Mikhail Khodorkovsky has warned

'Trump has made Putin comfortable' despite massive Ukraine war losses, exiled former oligarch tells LBC

The bodies of Andrew Searle and his wife Dawn were discovered by a neighbour.

British couple found dead in south of France home being ‘treated as murder-suicide’