Alec Baldwin sues ‘Rust’ crew after Halyna Hutchins’ death on set

On Nov 12, 2022

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Alec Baldwin is suing the armorer and other people associated with the film “Rust” after he was given a loaded gun on set that fired last year, killing a cinematographer.

Baldwin alleges in the lawsuit that the shooting was caused by the negligence of armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was in charge of guns and ammunition on the set; assistant director Dave Halls, who handed the gun to Baldwin and said it was safe; Sarah Zachry, who was in charge of props; and Seth Kenney, who supplied the guns and ammunition on the set and assisted the armorer. Baldwin, who was sued after the shooting, “seeks to clear his name” and hold the defendants “accountable for their misconduct,” according to the counterclaim filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court by the actor’s attorney, Luke Nikas.

“This tragedy happened because live bullets were delivered to the set and loaded into the gun, Gutierrez-Reed failed to check the bullets or the gun carefully, Halls failed to check the gun carefully and yet announced the gun was safe before handing it to Baldwin, and Zachry failed to disclose that Gutierrez-Reed had been acting recklessly off set and was a safety risk to those around her,” Nikas wrote.

The Washington Post was not immediately able to reach the defendants Friday evening.

In October 2021, Baldwin was inside a church building on Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, N.M., practicing cocking the gun when it went off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. It was not clear why the prop had live ammunition.

According to interviews conducted by the Sante Fe County Sheriff’s Office, people on the set saw and heard Halls retrieve a .45 Long Colt revolver from Gutierrez-Reed, announce it was a “cold gun” and hand it to Baldwin. The industry term means there are no live rounds in a weapon.

A New Mexico medical examiner ruled Hutchins’s manner of death an accident after she was shot in the chest. An FBI report suggested that the gun could not have fired without its trigger having been pulled.

FBI tests suggest gun in ‘Rust’ shooting could not fire without trigger pull

Baldwin’s lawsuit is the latest since the shooting: Gutierrez-Reed sued Kenney, saying he was liable for the live ammunition on set. Script supervisor Mamie Mitchell sued several including Baldwin, Gutierrez-Reed and Halls over workplace safety allegations.

Matthew Hutchins, Halyna Hutchins’s husband, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit this year against Baldwin and other entities involved in the production, seeking compensatory and punitive damages. The defendants settled the lawsuit last month.

On Dec. 2, Alec Baldwin spoke with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos about the October 2021 shooting on the set of the film “Rust.” (Video: Julie Yoon/The Washington Post)

After news of the settlement, Matthew Hutchins called his wife’s death a “terrible accident.”

“I have no interest in engaging in recriminations or attribution of blame [to the producers or Mr. Baldwin],” Hutchins said in a statement last month after reaching a settlement with the actor. “All of us believe Halyna’s death was a terrible…

Alec Baldwin sues ‘Rust’ crew after Halyna Hutchins’ death on set

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