Alec Baldwin, a movie star, fatally shot Halyna Hutchins, a cinematographer, during a practice scene in the film last October. The film “Rust” was being made near Santa Fe, New Mexico. Joel Souza, a director, was also wounded during a tragic accident that happened when Baldwin practiced a pull with a revolver and accidentally fired it.
Halyna Hutchins’ family has submitted a wrongful death lawsuit against the famous actor, the film’s producers, production companies, and other vital crew members. According to attorney Brian Panish, the lawsuit, filed in Santa Fe, asserts countless industry-standard violations by Alec Baldwin and other crew members who were in charge of safety on the set.
The lawsuit focuses on the fact that producers hired the cheapest crew they could find and an unqualified armorer, which led to the horrific accident. Aaron Dyer, attorney for Alec Baldwin and other “Rust” producers, gave a statement claiming that the legal team continued to work with authorities to figure out how live ammunition ended up on the set, emphasizing that claims about Baldwin being careless were completely false. Namely, Baldwin was relying on professionals who claimed the gun was “cold” as reported.
The names of Hannah Gutierrez Reed, an armorer, and Sarah Zachry, a prop master, are also in the lawsuit, as well as assistant director Dave Halls. Halls was the one who gave the gun to Baldwin, but he was not in charge of checking the gun.
In his interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that took place late last year, Baldwin explained that the gun was supposed to be empty and that he had no idea about how the live round ended up in the gun.
According to two crew members, Gutierrez Reed poorly handled weapons on a previous movie project too. She didn’t comment on the allegations. Gutierrez Reed is in the process of suing the movie’s gun and ammunition supplier, alleging that dummy rounds were mixed in with live ammunition. The crew’s safety concerns went unaddressed, according to the lawsuit, which cites 15 specific safety protocols they claim were violated.