Alec Baldwin is suing to ‘clear his name’ after his accidental shooting on the set of ‘Rust’ which claimed the life of Halyna Hutchins.
As reported by The New York Times, Alec Baldwin has officially filed a counterclaim in Los Angeles Superior Court, pleading negligence on the set of the movie Rust.
The lawsuit targets several people who were responsible for handling and supplying the weapon that ultimately killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins while setting up a scene at a filming ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on October 21, 2021. These same people were also sued by the script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell, who was standing behind Hutchins at the time. She was also suing Alec Baldwin as the film’s producer.
Baldwin’s lawsuit alleges the negligence of gunsmith Hannah Guttierez-Reed, prop man Sarah Zachry, first assistant director and security coordinator David Halls who gave him the gun, ammunition supplier Seth Kenney and his company, PDQ Arm & Prop, who also provided production support weapons. All have previously denied any responsibility.
Among other things, Baldwin is asking for a share of any damages Mitchell might get from the named individuals and asking them to pay for damages against his own person.
In his complaint, the actor says that while working on camera angles with Halyna Hutchins during rehearsal, he pointed the gun in her direction, fired back and released the hammer of the gun which swung. is discharged. The gunshot later fatally wounded Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza in the shoulder. He adds that neither he nor Halyna Hutchins knew the gun contained live ammunition.
The complaint, obtained by Deadline, states:
This tragedy happened on a film set – not a shooting range, not a battlefield, not a place where even a remote possibility should exist that a weapon contained live ammunition. […] More than anyone on this set, Baldwin was wrongly considered the author of this tragedy. Through these counterclaims, Baldwin seeks to clear his name.
The document also states that the actor was said to have lost opportunities and been fired because of the shooting and that he “also suffered physically and emotionally from the grief caused by these events”.
From the start, Alec Baldwin has maintained that he was told the gun was safe and that he did not pull the trigger. But a recent FBI forensic report found the gun could not have fired unless the trigger was pulled.
Although the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator determined the shooting was an accident, prosecutors are still investigating to determine if criminal charges should be filed.
In April, the New Mexico Bureau of Occupational Health and Safety fined Rust Movie Productions $137,000 and aired a scathing account of safety violations that included testimony that production managers took little to no action to address two misfires on set before the fatal shooting. The company, however, contested the fine.
Alec Baldwin’s fatal shot: an agreement reached with the family of Halyna Hutchins
In October, Halyna Hutchins’ family announced that they had agreed to settle another lawsuit – one against the actor and the film’s producers. The latter then declared that they intended to restart the project in January 2023. The case is therefore still to be followed.