about the allegation the crew was using prop weapons for target practice. it s not something that they d participate or something that s allowed and any crew member that s on a project that that is partaking is putting themselves by allowing that to happen and others at risk. reporter: now cnn has reached out to the production company behind rust. in light of this reporting from the wrap. they referred back to the previous statement basically saying that safety is the utmost importance. they are doing their own internal investigation and they received no official complaints about prop safety and weapons safety on the set of rust. also worth noting is that the state of new mexico said that they had not received any official complaints either before this tragic accident on the movie set. stephanie elam in santa fe, new mexico, thank you. why was there so much ammunition around the film set? coming up next, we ll talk to someone who is an expert on handling weapons in film. st
but they know they can inspect the gun but they can t go take the gun. reporter: a prop maker on a 2019 film said halls neglected to hold safety meetings or announce the presence of firearms on set. on the rust set, alec baldwin thought he was firing a cold gun during rehearsal. director joel souza told investigators baldwin was sitting on a wooden pew, cross drawing his weapon, and pointing the revolver toward the camera lens when he heard what sounded like a whip and then loud pop according to the search warrant affidavit. souza was shot in the shoulder and hutchins was killed. the first thing that went wrong is that they used a gun that was dpabl capable of having live ammo put in it. reporter: on the rust set, there were concerns the armorer or person responsible for prop weapons was 24-year-old hanna gutierrez. on a podcast last month, gutierrez said she had recently finished her first job as head armorer on a film titled the old way with nicholas cage and that
behavior complaints during two different 2019 productions, and was fired from a previous movie after a gun incident. the ultimate arbiter of safety is the first ad, the first assistant director. but they know they can inspect the gun but they can t go take the gun. reporter: a prop maker on a 2019 film said halls neglected to hold safety meetings or announce the presence of firearms on set. on the rust set, alec baldwin thought he was firing a cold gun during rehearsal. director joel souza told investigators baldwin was sitting on a wooden pew, cross drawing his weapon, and pointing the revolver toward the camera lens when he heard what sounded like a whip and then loud pop according to the search warrant affidavit. souza was shot in the shoulder and hutchins was killed. the first thing that went wrong is that they used a gun that was capable of having live ammo put in it. reporter: on the rust set, there were concerns the armorer
good evening, the set of the movie rust is dark tonight in more ways than one. in a letter we learned about late today, the production team said it would shut down indefinitely at the new mexico location where alec baldwin fatally shot the film s director of photography, and wounded its director. cnn has new reporting tonight on the assistant director who handed baldwin the fateful gun and just before air time, the los angeles times moved a new item on a veteran hollywood prop master who was offered a job on a film but passed. he tells the times meg james he felt at the time this was quote an accident waiting to happen. she joins us shortly. also, our gary tuchman with another hollywood veteran as he learns exactly how gunfire is supposed to be simulated on screen safely with no one hurt but the fictional bad guys. stephanie elam starts us off. reporter: a new red flag from the rust set. the assistant director who gave alec baldwin the gun before that fatal shooting had been fir
or person responsible for prop weapons was 24-year-old hanna gutierrez. on a podcast last month, gutierrez said she had recently finished her first job as head armorer on a film titled the old way with nicholas cage and that her father, an industry vet, had been teaching her about guns since she was 16. i was really nervous about it at first and i almost didn t take the job was i wasn t sure if i was ready but doing it, like, it went really smoothly. reporter: a crew member on the set of rust calls out the armorer s level of experience, and made claims of the producer s cost cutting in a public-facebook post writing, there is no way a 24-year-old woman can be a professional with armory. to save a dime sometimes, you hire people who are not fully qualified for the complicated and dangerous job. and the los angeles times reports there were accidental prop gun discharges on the rust set before thursday s shooting. on october 16th, baldwin s stunt