Weapons supervisor’s trial will focus on how live ammunition was on Rust set

Movie set armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, right, speaks to a sheriff’s deputy on the set of the movie Rust (Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office/AP)

The trial next week of a movie weapons supervisor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin may hinge on an enduring mystery – how did live ammunition find its way on to the set of a film where it was expressly prohibited?

Investigators recovered six live rounds of ammunition from a box, a bandolier, a gun belt and other locations on the set of the western movie Rust, including the round that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza.