Months after the tragic death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, an investigation into the shooting, which occurred on the set of the film Rust, is still ongoing. All the while, specific individuals involved in the incident are facing legal ramifications, including the movie’s lead star, Alec Baldwin. The actor was holding the prop gun that fired and killed the 42-year-old crew member, though he’s stated that he did not pull the trigger. Baldwin has been hit with multiple lawsuits thus far and, now, he’s been formally served by Hutchins’ family.
The family of Halyna Hutchins has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Alec Baldwin and others, including armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed and Assistant Director David Halls, per Deadline. The complaint was filed by Hutchins’ husband, Matthew, on behalf of himself and the couple’s nine-year-old son, Andros. The suit, which was obtained by the trade, alleges negligence on Baldwin and the other defendants’ parts:
Halyna Hutchins deserved to live, and the Defendants had the power to prevent her death if they had only held sacrosanct their duty to protect the safety of every individual on a set where firearms were present instead of cutting corners on safety procedures where human lives were at stake, rushing to stay on schedule and ignoring numerous complaints of safety violations.
The suit goes on to allege that the actor and crew members “were aware of firearms safety issues that had occurred on the set of Rust.” From there, the complaint adds that “they did not take action to correct the situation and ensure that basic gun safety rules were followed” on the day the shooting occurred. Overall, “the lawsuit seeks justice for the losses of her survivors and to hold responsible those who caused [Halyna’s] tragic death.”
This marks the third Rust-related suit that Alec Baldwin has faced since the fatal shooting occurred in Albuquerque, New Mexico back in October. In November, the movie’s chief of lightning filed suit, accusing the producers of being “consciously aware of the wrongfulness and harmfulness of their conduct.” The script supervisor also sued Baldwin a few days later and claimed that he “intentionally, without cause or excuse” fired the prop gun that killed Halyna Hutchins.
At present, the Emmy-winning actor is also the subject of a lawsuit that’s not connected to the film. This situation involves late U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum who died in a suicide bombing that occurred at the Kabul, Afghanistan airport in August 2021. Sometime later, the star reportedly sent McCollum’s widow money in honor of the late soldier. However, she’s now suing the Hollywood veteran for $25 million for allegedly referring to her and her family as insurrectionists.
Since the shooting, Alec Baldwin has opened up about the situation on a few occasions. He first broke his silence in early November, saying that the production team was “a very, very well-oiled crew” before the incident occurred. Baldwin subsequently participated in a lengthier interview with ABC News, in which he explained his reason for speaking out and responded to George Clooney’s comments about gun safety on sets.
Representatives for Alec Baldwin have not commented on the most recent suit. Whether or not the actor will speak out on the situation remains to be seen.
