Witness Points Gun at Judge in Alec Baldwin Shooting Armorer’s Trial
Defense for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed inadvertently reminds jury that breaking gun safety rules caused the tragic death on the “Rust” movie set
The trial for armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed ended much like the Alec Baldwin shooting on the “Rust” set started- a stark reminder of the importance of basic gun safety rules.
One of the final witnesses for the defense-– a firearm expert, of all people-– pointed a gun directly at the judge. Spectators gasped. He had not shown the court that it was unloaded.
Unlike Baldwin, the expert’s finger was not on the trigger. This is the reason for the three gun safety rules– the redundancy prevents a negligent shooting.
**Click here to read all my reporting about this case since Oct. 2021.**
A gun is assumed loaded
The alarming moment started when firearm expert Frank Louis Blair Koucky III, who said he’d been "shooting almost from birth”, was asked by defense attorney Jason Bowles to show the revolvers he brought with him to the jury.
As Koucky took the guns out of their bags, Bowles instructed him to remove the cylinder to confirm to the court they were unloaded. The first rule of gun safety is to assume a gun is loaded until you show someone it is not.
I cued the YouTube video up to this section of the trial:
Koucky did not abide by this and instead took the first revolver out of a case and pointed it at the ceiling. The prosecution objected and both lawyers went to the judge’s bench.
District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer addressed Koucky directly.
“First of all, everybody’s nervous because you have not demonstrated to us that they’re unloaded,” the judge said. “So before you start showing us the weapons, make sure they’re unloaded, including that one you just touched.”
Safe Direction & Courtroom Drama
The second rule of gun safety-– never point a gun at something or someone you don't intend to shoot-– became particularly relevant during Koucky's demonstration.
Though audio was muted during a sidebar with the judge, the video showed Koucky pointing the gun directly at the judge while opening the cylinder. (A screengrab of this is at the top of this story.)
The court deputy, wearing white gloves, quickly grabbed the gun and pointed it to the ground.
Finally, Bowels asked Koucky to show the jury the two guns. The first is a replica fake revolver named Denix that can’t fire. The second is a Pietta replica real gun that is the same as the one Balwin used in “Rust.”
This time, Koucky pointed the firearm at the wall behind him (but toward the CourtTV camera) and removed the cylinder.
Koucky kept his finger off the trigger until it was time to show the jury how the safety mechanism worked on the gun.
Where do you point a gun safely?
During cross-examination, Special Prosecutor Kari Morrissey pressed Koucky on his seemingly negligent handling of the gun. (I cued up the exchange video here.)
“Mr. Koucky, do you agree with me that basic gun safety requires that the handler of the gun does not point the gun at anyone?
“If it’s a real gun, yes,”
"Do you agree with me that while you were sitting here in the courtroom, you pulled out a gun and you pointed it at the judge?" Morrissey asked.
"I do not,” said Koucky.
“You disagree?” asked Morrissey.
"I pointed the gun into this space up here,” he said, waving his hand in the air. “Never directly at the judge.”
“Do you agree that basic gun safety requires that you keep the muzzle of the gun pointed down for safety?” asked the special prosecutor.
“Not at all. A gun may be pointed…. up, pointed back, cross arms, maybe pointed at the ground… so no,” said Koucky.
Jury deliberations
As the two-week trial concludes, the focus shifts to closing arguments. While much attention has centered on identifying the source of live rounds on the set, the core question remains: Who was reckless and negligent in handling the firearm?
The jury's verdict, which I expect by Friday, will determine if the armorer shares responsibility for Baldwin's tragic shooting of Halyna Hutchins.
Discussion Questions
What do you think will be the jury verdict?
How do you think Hannah’s verdict will affect Baldwin’s trial?
Do you think the source of the live round will determine the verdict or Baldwin breaking all the gun safety rules?
Update on the audio/podcast versions: The survey show far shows you are equally split 33% on those who want every post in an audio version, those who want none and those who want some. I’m not sure what to do in order to not fill up the inboxes of those who don’t want any but still give them to those who do. If you haven’t voted yet, please click below and answer the one question so it sways one way more clearly!
Good morning.
The firearms expert seemingly behaved like Baldwin...but knew the firearms were safe. If I were on the jury, with using this demonstration as evidence, I would think that the armorer...Hannah... should not be found guilty. After all, Hannah was not actually incompetent at the job. Simply still a tenderfoot. She hadn't quite the courage to insist the safety rules be followed.
SAG AFTRA should not have any say in the trial for Baldwin because they choose their membership dues over common sense.
Chaos breeds more chaos, it seems. Amongst all this, did anyone ever prove where the live cartridge came from? If I'm a jurer, I cannot find her guilty if she didn't put the live round in the gun.