Saying he wants vindication, Alec Baldwin on Friday sued those involved in the handling and delivery of the loaded gun he was using when it opened fire, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in a 2021 filming accident in New Mexico.
Baldwin filed a cross-complaint with the Supreme Court in Los Angeles alleging negligence against several people sued by the script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell. Among other things, it sought to share any damages Mitchell might have won from those Baldwin named and demanded that they pay for any damages assessed against him.
Mitchell is standing behind Hutchins, who died shortly after being injured during preparations for a scene from the Western film. Rust at a film farm in the suburbs of Santa Fe on October 21, 2021.
Mitchell sued Baldwin, who served as the film’s producer, the production company, and many others involved, for assault and negligence.
In his cross-complaint, Baldwin said that while performing camera angles with Hutchins during rehearsal for a scene, he pointed the gun at her then stepped back and released the gun’s hammer.
The shot left Hutchins critically injured and director Joel Souza wounded in the shoulder.
The actor said neither he nor Hutchins knew the weapon had live ammunition.
“This tragedy happened on a set — not a shooting range, not a battlefield, not a location but even the remote possibility that a gun would contain live ammunition,” the lawsuit reads.
Baldwin insists he was told the gun was safe and that he didn’t pull the trigger. But a recent FBI forensic report found that the weapon failed to fire unless the trigger was pulled.
“More than anyone else on that set, Baldwin was wrongly accused of being the culprit of this tragedy. By means of these cross-statements, Baldwin seeks to remove his name,” the actor’s lawsuit reads.
Baldwin’s cross-complaint says he lost his opportunity and was fired from his job because of the shooting, and “has suffered physically and mentally because of the grief these events have caused.” .”
New Mexico’s Office of Medical Investigations determined the shooting was an accident. However, prosecutors are looking into the shooting to determine whether criminal charges should be filed.
In April, New Mexico’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration imposed a maximum fine of $137,000 against Rust Movie Productions and spread a scathing story of safety flaws, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two previous on-set empty ammunition fires. fatal shooting.
The company is challenging the fine.
Baldwin’s lawsuit accuses armor maker Hannah Guttierez-Reed of negligence; prop master Sarah Zachry; first assistant superintendent and safety coordinator David Halls, who gave the gun to Baldwin; Ammunition supplier Seth Kenney and his company, PDQ Arm & Prop, also supplied prop weapons for the production process.
All previously denied responsibility for the deadly shooting.
In October, Hutchins’ family announced that they had agreed to settle another lawsuit against the actor and the film’s producers, and the producers said they planned to restart the project in October. January.
Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney, Jason Bowles, said he was reviewing Baldwin’s lawsuit. Attorneys for the other defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The The New York Times report.
A phone message left by the Associated Press seeking comment from Bowles was not immediately answered Friday night.
