Alec Baldwin sued by the family of the filmmaker who died on the set of Rust

«On 21 October 2021, defendant Alec Baldwin recklessly shot and killed Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film Rust “. Thus begins the lawsuit filed by the husband of the director of photography, who died last fall during the making of the western thriller in New Mexico when a shot went off from the prop gun the actor was holding – and which authorities believe is. was loaded with a real bullet.

The lawsuit against Baldwin also names other producers and crew workers who – according to documents – are found guilty of the fatal accident. For now, no criminal charges have been filed against any in attendance, although the investigation is still ongoing and prosecutors are awaiting crucial information on the weapon and bullet from the FBI labs.

Defendant Baldwin and the other defendants in this case did not perform standard security checks and did not follow basic gun safety rules while using real guns during the production of the film. Rust, with fatal consequences ”, reads the subpoena.

“Halyna Hutchins deserved to live, and the defendants had the power to prevent her death if only they fulfilled their duty to protect the safety of every individual on a firearm set, instead of taking shortcuts on security procedures. where human lives were at stake, rushing to respect the shooting schedule and ignoring the numerous reports of security breaches, ”the document continues. “This lawsuit is to obtain justice for her grave loss and to hold accountable those who caused her tragic death.”

Among the claims of the lawsuit, filed by Matthew Hutchins on behalf of his nine-year-old son, Andros, is the fact that manufacturers should never have allowed real firearms to be used as props: «A revolver is a deadly weapon. It is designed to inflict severe physical harm or death. The defendants chose to use real firearms for the production of the film Rust… despite the danger inherent in any use of real firearms », the document continues.

The lawsuit, filed by Panish, Shea, Boyle, Ravipudi LLP, lists nine points of safety that the Hutchins family claims the creators of Rust have not respected. Aaron Dyer, the attorney representing Baldwin and the consortium of producers, released this statement in response: “Everyone’s hearts and thoughts stay with Halyna’s family as they continue to work through this unspeakable tragedy. We continue to cooperate with authorities to determine how the real ammunition arrived on the set of Rust. Any claims that Alec was reckless are completely false. He, Halyna and the rest of the crew relied on the statement by the two professionals responsible for checking the gun that he claimed it was “unloaded”. Actors should be able to rely on professionals from the stage department, as well as assistant directors, rather than deciding for themselves when a gun is safe to use. ‘