Fatal shot on the “Rust” set
Director testifies in court
© imago/ZUMA Wire
“Rust” director Souza testified in court about the fatal incident on the film’s set. He describes an “incredibly loud bang.”
It was like being hit with a “baseball bat”: US director Joel Souza, 50, testified in court about the fatal shot by Hollywood star Alec Baldwin, 65, at camerawoman Halyna Hutchins (1979-2021) while filming the western “Rust ” stated.
‘Rust’ director describes ‘incredibly loud bang’
“There was an incredibly loud bang,” Souza, who was seriously injured in the incident, said on Friday (March 1). according to media reports on the witness stand in the trial of armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 24, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. “It felt like I had been hit in the shoulder with a baseball bat,” he said. “I remember it clearly.”
He staggered backwards and screamed because of the force of the hit. He fell to the ground and then saw blood on the back of the camerawoman lying next to him.
Souza was hit by the same bullet that killed camerawoman Hutchins in the October 2021 incident. He said in court he couldn’t believe he had been hit by a real bullet. He said to the doctors: “You don’t understand. That was a film. It’s impossible that there was live ammunition there.”
The director goes on to describe how, after the shot, he saw Armsmaster Gutierrez-Reed, who now has to stand trial for negligent homicide. “She looked upset,” Souza said. “I remember her saying, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Joel.’ And I remember someone yelling at her and she was taken out.”
Alec Baldwin will also soon be in court
Gutierrez-Reed’s trial began last week in New Mexico before a jury that will decide whether the 24-year-old is responsible for Hutchins’ accidental death.
Alec Baldwin will also go on trial this year. From July 9th this will also take place in Santa Fe. At the beginning of February, the actor pleaded “not guilty” in the involuntary manslaughter trial in connection with the shooting.
The tragic incident occurred on October 21, 2021 on the set of the western film “Rust”. A prop gun that Alec Baldwin was holding at a rehearsal was apparently loaded with live ammunition and went off. How this could have happened is still unclear.