Alec Baldwin sued by family of Halyna Hutchins who was shot and killed on the set of Rust

February 16, 2022 - 12:45 PM IST

The family of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins has sued Alec Baldwin and others involved in the film Rust, alleging that “reckless conduct and cost-cutting measures” led to her death.

Alec Baldwin sued by family of Halyna Hutchins who was shot and killed on the set of Rust

Last year in October, while on Rust‘s Bonanza Creek Ranch set in Santa Fe, actor-producer Alec Baldwin held a Colt revolver for the scene which accidentally discharged, killing Haylna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza, though he has stated he was not aware the firearm contained a live round. The cinematographer was then airlifted to a hospital in Albuquerque, where she died.

“He lost his long-term wife who was the love of his life, and his son lost a mother,” Halyna Hutchins’ representative Brian Panish said at a press conference announcing the suit. “It never should have happened.”

According to Variety, the lawsuit, filed by the attorneys for the husband and 9-year-old son of Halyna Hutchins in New Mexico, cites text messages and emails sent by Lane Luper, the camera assistant who raised red flags about accidental discharges on set, and who left the production with several others just before Hutchins’ death.

The defendants’ “reckless conduct and cost-cutting measures led to the death of Halyna Hutchins,” attorney Brian Panish said. At a news conference, Hutchins’ representatives also presented an animated re-enactment of the shooting. They claimed Alec and others "failed to perform industry standard safety checks and follow basic gun safety rules". It also suggests that Baldwin committed reckless discharge of a deadly weapon, “which is a criminal offense in the State of New Mexico.”

The lawsuit also alleges producers for "cutting corners on safety procedures where human lives were at stake, rushing to stay on schedule and ignoring numerous complaints of safety violations".

In addition to Alec Baldwin, the suit names seven producers as defendants, Ryan Smith, Allen Cheney, Nathan Klingher, Ryan Winterstern, Anjul Nigam, Matthew DelPiano, and Emily Salveson, as well as crew members Sarah Zachry, Dave Halls, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, Gabrielle Pickle, Seth Kenney, and others, per Variety.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s department and district attorney who have been investigating the incident, have revealed in warrants that the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed loaded the Colt .45 with what she believed were dummy rounds. She then gave the gun to Dave Halls, the first assistant director, who proclaimed that it was a “cold gun,” while handing it to Alec Baldwin.

“We’re used to people coming in from out of town to play cowboy who don’t know how to use guns,” said Randi McGinn, the estate’s attorney in Albuquerque. “You don’t hand somebody a gun until you give them safety training … No one should ever die with a real gun on a make-believe movie set.”

The representative for Alec Baldwin and the other producers, Aaron Dyer, issued a statement in response to the suit. “Everyone’s hearts and thoughts remain with Halyna’s family as they continue to process this unspeakable tragedy,” Aaron said. “We continue to cooperate with the authorities to determine how live ammunition arrived on the ‘Rust’ set in the first place.”

“Any claim that Alec was reckless is entirely false. He, Halyna and the rest of the crew relied on the statement by the two professionals responsible for checking the gun that it was a ‘cold gun’ – meaning there is no possibility of a discharge, blank or otherwise,” he added.

Aaron further stated, “This protocol has worked on thousands of films, with millions of discharges, as there has never before been an incident on a set where an actual bullet harmed anyone. Actors should be able to rely on armorers and prop department professionals, as well as assistant directors, rather than deciding on their own when a gun is safe to use.”

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