Movies

Alec Baldwin Sues ‘Rust’ Crew After Halyna Hutchins’ Death On Set

November 12, 2022

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Alec Baldwin is suing the gunsmith and others associated with the movie ‘Rust’ after he received a loaded gun on set that fired last year, killing a cinematographer.

Baldwin alleges in the lawsuit that the shooting was caused by the negligence of gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was in charge of weapons and ammunition on set; assistant director Dave Halls, who handed the gun to Baldwin and said he was safe; Sarah Zachry, Accessories Manager; and Seth Kenney, who provided the weapons and ammunition on set and assisted the gunsmith. Baldwin, who was sued after the shooting, ‘seeks to clear his name’ and hold the defendants ‘accountable for their wrongdoing’, according to the counterclaim filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court by the actor’s attorney. , Luke Nikas.

“This tragedy happened because live ammunition was delivered to the set and loaded into the gun, Gutierrez-Reed did not carefully check the bullets or the gun, Halls did not carefully check the gun and yet announced that the gun was safe before handing it to Baldwin, and Zachry did not disclose that Gutierrez-Reed acted recklessly off set and posed a safety risk to those around him,” a Nikas writes.

The Washington Post was unable to immediately reach the defendants on Friday evening.

In October 2021, Baldwin was inside a church building on Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, NM, practicing cocking the gun when it detonated, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. It was unclear why the prop had live ammunition.

According to interviews conducted by the Sante Fe County Sheriff’s Office, people on set saw and heard Halls retrieve a .45 Long Colt revolver from Gutierrez-Reed, announce that it was a “cold gun ” and hand it to Baldwin. The industry term means there are no live ammunition in a gun.

A New Mexico medical examiner ruled that Hutchins’ mode of death was an accident after being shot in the chest. An FBI report suggested the gun could not have fired without its trigger being pulled.

FBI tests suggest the gun in the ‘Rust’ shot couldn’t fire without pulling the trigger

Baldwin’s trial is the last since the shooting: Gutierrez-Reed sued Kenney, claiming he was responsible for the live ammunition on set. Script supervisor Mamie Mitchell sued multiple people, including Baldwin, Gutierrez-Reed and Halls, over workplace safety allegations.

Matthew Hutchins, husband of Halyna Hutchins, filed a wrongful death lawsuit this year against Baldwin and others involved in the production, seeking compensatory and punitive damages. The defendants settled the lawsuit last month.

On Dec. 2, Alec Baldwin spoke with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos about the October 2021 shoot on the set of the movie “Rust.” (Video: Julie Yoon/The Washington Post)

After learning of the settlement, Matthew Hutchins called his wife’s death a “terrible accident”.

“I have no interest in indulging in recriminations or assigning blame [to the producers or Mr. Baldwin]”, Hutchins said in a statement last month after reaching an agreement with the actor. “We all believe that Halyna’s death was a terrible accident.”

Alec Baldwin and others reach settlement with Halyna Hutchins’ family in ‘Rust’ lawsuit

Filming will resume next year, the statement said, with Matthew Hutchins serving as executive producer.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office delivered its investigation report to local prosecutors in October, but the results of the investigation are not public. Local prosecutors have not filed criminal charges in the shooting.