Rantburg

Today's Front Page   View All of Fri 03/29/2024 View Thu 03/28/2024 View Wed 03/27/2024 View Tue 03/26/2024 View Mon 03/25/2024 View Sun 03/24/2024 View Sat 03/23/2024
2021-11-10 -Lurid Crime Tales-
Who is Seth Kenney? 'Rust' shooting investigation focuses on 'armorer mentor'
[Meaww.com] Hannah Gutierrez Reed, 24, wasn’t the only weapons wrangler involved in the 'Rust' tragedy, but a second gun expert called Seth Kenney was also part of the set. Kenney owns a licensed Lake Havasu City, Ariz., weapons and props rental company. Late in September, Kenney was added to the 'Rust' crew as an 'armorer mentor' for Gutierrez Reed, claimed an internal 'Rust' crew list shared with the Los Angeles Times. The 'Rust' tragedy involved cinematographer Halyna Hutchins being killed after actor Alec Baldwin's prop gun misfired.

Kenney, 51, recommended Gutierrez Reed for the armorer job, sources told the Los Angeles Times. According to six people who are familiar with the matter, Kenney also supplied the guns used in 'Rust'. Two sources said Kenney provided the Colt .45 that Baldwin fired that day.

WHO IS SETH KENNEY?
How large of a role Kenney played as Gutierrez Reed's 'mentor', however, is unclear. A number of longtime prop masters have claimed that they have never heard of such a position and that the employment of an 'armorer mentor' for a film or TV production is very rare. According to one longtime armorer, supervisory roles are usually called a 'key armorer' or 'weapons master'. A more common title, according to another prop master, would be 'armorer assistant' for the more junior person.

Kenney was an entrepreneur in San Clemente over two decades back. Back then, Kenney, along with his then-wife, was part-owner of several San Clemente businesses, including a stationery store, Cheers; a gift shop, Summer House; and the Del Mar Bicycle Co., which Seth Kenney ran, a 1996 article in The Times claims. Kenney has been working in the film industry for at least a decade, and was listed as a 'weapon's consultant' on the 2015 Shia LaBeouf film 'Man Down'.

Kenney worked at the Hand Prop Room from 2011 to 2016, where he handled the store's weapons arsenal. He also dealt with prop masters for shows such as AMC’s 'The Walking Dead', and movies such as 'Django Unchained'. "He’s very knowledgeable in the field. He’s a personable person, very good at educating individuals who aren’t so good at weapons," said an individual who was not authorized to speak publicly. "He customized the weapons for whatever load you’re needing, which is very precise, he’s one of the very few who know how to do that. He provided weapons to hundreds of productions when he worked there."

Later, however, there were issues between Kenney and the Hand Prop Room’s owners over alleged misconduct and missing guns. Following the falling out, the Hand Prop Room filed suit against Kenney in Los Angeles County Superior Court in May 2016. It accused Kenney of taking some of its weapons in an attempt to start a competing business. It also accused Kenney of trying to siphon off its clients for his own business.

Back in January 2016, Kenney had formed his own company called PDQ Media Arm & Prop in Georgia. In its lawsuit, the Hand Prop Room claimed that Kenney was trying to poach one of its longtime customers -- the prop master of 'The Walking Dead'. They accused Kenney of opening his own firm in April 2016 while he was still employed with them. However, the case was dismissed in 2017 after the Hand Prop Room asked for it.

Western Journal - Gun Baldwin Used When He Accidentally Killed Worker Was Supplied by Mysterious 'Armorer Mentor': Report

Posted by Besoeker 2021-11-10 03:46|| || Front Page|| [1 views ]  Top

#1 ...I'm wondering if Mr. Kenney hadn't spread himself a bit thin, and was hiring people with little/no experience to handle things on set for him.

Mike
Posted by Mike Kozlowski 2021-11-10 06:08||   2021-11-10 06:08|| Front Page Top

#2 I'm wondering when 'the blame charade' for the Colt .45 that Baldwin fired that day stops.
Posted by Skidmark 2021-11-10 08:01||   2021-11-10 08:01|| Front Page Top

#3 Face it, he will skate. He might even qualify for an insanity plea.
He should have never been allowed near a gun of any type. His contempt for 'guns' blinded him. The most rudimentary level of gun safety training would have informed him that 'every gun is presumed loaded'.
The 'press' is looking for a way to absolve him of the murder he committed.
Posted by Whiskey Mike 2021-11-10 08:51||   2021-11-10 08:51|| Front Page Top

#4 Did Baldwin as Producer bother to vet this guy?
Posted by Merrick Ferret 2021-11-10 09:12||   2021-11-10 09:12|| Front Page Top

#5 Ref #3: The 'press' is looking for a way to absolve him of the murder he committed.

No, nothing will come of it. Somewhat akin to the 'nothing will come of it' of the Capitol Police Officer Lt. Michael Byrd shooting.
Posted by Besoeker 2021-11-10 10:06||   2021-11-10 10:06|| Front Page Top

#6 Gun (revolver) leaps into person-1's hand then rotates person-1's arm to point at person-2 then fires itself killing person-2. Person-1 is not at fault, it was the 'guns' fault.
Posted by irish rage boy  2021-11-10 10:12||   2021-11-10 10:12|| Front Page Top

#7 Kenney is the contractor that supplied the pistol in question (they're usually on lease). If the gun functioned correctly (it appears it worked) then that's pretty much that.
More mud added to already muddy water, plus some payback stabs.
Posted by ed in texas 2021-11-10 10:34||   2021-11-10 10:34|| Front Page Top

#8 I blame Gun Violence. He gets around, he's everywhere. Arrest him!
Posted by Merrick Ferret 2021-11-10 10:37||   2021-11-10 10:37|| Front Page Top

#9 "Misfired"?

No, the gun did not misfire. It fired. It worked exactly as it was supposed to. Why there was live ammunition on a film set I'll never know.

Hannah Gutierrez Reed had all the right qualifications. She was Hispanic and woke. Remember, being competent at your job is a sure sign of white supremacy.
Posted by Omomolet Phutch9064 2021-11-10 12:17||   2021-11-10 12:17|| Front Page Top

#10 This whole thing is disgusting. If anyone but a prominent lefty celebrity had shot someone who later died of the gunshot, they would long since have been in jail charged with murder.

The only reason I can think of why this is stringing out so long is that the DA is considering whether indicting Alec Baldwin would help or hurt a run for state Attorney General in the future.
Posted by Tom 2021-11-10 13:19||   2021-11-10 13:19|| Front Page Top

#11 Beat me to it OP9064.

Baldwin is a notorious drug and alcohol abuser. Wonder if that is why he skipped town so quick, all 'fired up' for big hero scene.

Shouldn't skipping the State activate the federales? I mean, like for anyone else?
Posted by swksvolFF 2021-11-10 16:01||   2021-11-10 16:01|| Front Page Top

#12 I don't think the feds would normally be involved, no charges, let alone any of the restrictions that come with being out on bail. You of course would maybe see US Marshals in a high-profile flight to avoid prosecution situation, but that's not the case here.
Posted by M. Murcek 2021-11-10 16:20||   2021-11-10 16:20|| Front Page Top

#13  the employment of an 'armorer mentor' for a film or TV production is very rare.

That is because the position of armorer is a grown-up job with some life-or-death responsibilities. If you mess up, people get hurt/dead. Presumably, Gutierrez-Reed got the job via apprenticing with her famous in-the-business dad. The presence of an armorer mentor suggests she was not quite ready for the job.

Normally, the armorer works for the prop master who is in charge of all props on the set. Two separate people, lots of stuff to keep track of. In this case, as I understand it, HGR was filling both roles. Likely this did not increase attention to detail in the armorer role. Although, the bean counters were pleased.
Posted by SteveS 2021-11-10 18:15||   2021-11-10 18:15|| Front Page Top










Paypal:
Google
Search WWW Search rantburg.com