The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles, alleges Baldwin chose to “play Russian roulette when he fired a gun without inspecting it and without a representative examining it in his presence,” attorneys for Mitchell, Gloria Allred, said Wednesday in a news release. conference announced the lawsuit.
“Alec Baldwin should have assumed that the gun in question was loaded unless and until he proved to him or he checked that it was unloaded,” the lawsuit states.
In addition to Baldwin, the lawsuit also names the film’s production company, Rust Movie Productions, LLC, armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, assistant director David Halls, and other members of the production team. Allred said the film’s production team failed to follow industry procedures, creating an environment where “injury and death are more likely, which is a likely outcome. ”
Gutierrez Reed is accused in Mitchell’s lawsuit of leaving a gun unattended during a lunch break in a wheelchair outside the building where the shooting took place on set in New Mexico.
Gutierrez Reed’s attorneys have claimed that the live spins turned it into a fake round box through “destructive behavior,” but did not provide evidence to support the allegation. They also said she was devastated and heartbroken by the tragedy and cooperated with the investigation.
Mitchell is seeking financial compensation because she was “shocked, traumatized and … physically and mentally harmed by what she saw, heard and experienced while in the fire”, Allred said during the press conference.
The script supervisor, a 40-year veteran of the industry, hasn’t worked since shooting.
The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting and has not released any findings.
CNN has reached out to the production company, representatives of Baldwin, Halls and Gutierrez Reed for comment.
And Rust Movie Productions, LLC has said that the safety of the cast is “a top priority.”
The company said: “While we are not aware of any formal complaints regarding firearms or on-set safety, we will conduct an internal review of our processes during the process. production stops,” the company said.
Mitchell describes the shooting moment in the lawsuit
Mitchell said she was near Hutchins and Souza when the shots were fired and was the first to call 911 for help on October 21, telling them, “We need help right away.”
She described the moment the shooting happened as she read from a prepared statement during Wednesday’s press conference.
“The loud gun shot was deafening. I was stunned. I heard someone groan, I turned and my director fell backwards and held his upper body. I turned towards Alec and saw Halyna standing there. Go down to my left,” Mitchell said.
“He’s not in charge of checking it. … It’s not the assistant director’s job. If he chose to test guns because he wanted to make sure everyone was safe, he could do it. that, but it’s not his responsibility,” Torraco said.
Mitchell’s lawsuit points to Baldwin for not testing the weapon before using it.
“He is not entitled to rely on certain alleged claims by the Assistant Director that it was a ‘cold gun,'” the suit referred to Baldwin.
Allred, Mitchell’s attorney, added that Baldwin suddenly disarmed, although no rehearsals were scheduled at the time – noting that even while they were filming the scene, it did not include rehearsals. shoot weapons.
The lawsuit also claims that Mitchell believes there have been two prior accidental shooting incidents – one due to a Baldwin brace and “a prop master who accidentally shot himself in the foot.”
CNN’s Sandra Gonzalez contributed to this report.
