The family of the late photography director Halyna Hutchins filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Alec Baldwin and other defendants. The complaint was made by Hutchins’ husband, Matthew Hutchins on behalf of him and their nine-year-old son, Andros. It was filed in New Mexico, stating that Baldwin, along with other defendants, had recklessly killed Hutchins for not undergoing standard safety checks and incompliance to basic gun rules and safety.
Four months earlier, Hutchins was airlifted from the Rust set in New Mexico and was announced dead. This happened after Baldwin (63), the main actor and producer of the film, discharged a prop gun on the set and accidentally killed Hutchins and injured Joel Souza. Hutchins was taken to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead, while Souza was taken to a medical center for treatment.
The lawsuit aims to seek justice for the loss of the cinematographer and to hold those who have caused her death responsible. It also emphasizes the idea that the defendants had the capability of preventing Hutchins death if they only prioritized the safety of every individual present in the set, and if they did not cut corners on safety procedures considering that they are dealing with real guns.
However, in response to the lawsuit, Baldwin’s attorney advocates the fallacy that Baldwin recklessly killed Hutchins, further adding that Baldwin, Hutchins, and the rest of the crew have relied on the professionals who are tasked for checking the guns and assured them that it was a ‘cold gun’. They iterated that actors should rely on armor experts and prop professionals.
Moreover, Rust’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, stated that she had no idea where the live rounds came from as per her lawyers. They carried on by saying that Reed and the prop master gained control of the guns and locked them up every night and at lunchtime.
After the shooting, Baldwin went to social media to express his condolences to Hutchins’ family. He wrote on Twitter that he is cooperating with the investigation to point out how the tragedy occurred and in December, Baldwin detailed the incident in an interview. He explained that he and Hutchins were doing a marked rehearsal and she was getting him to hold and position the gun which ended up being aimed below Hutchins’ armpit.
According to Baldwin, he didn’t pull the trigger but the gun discharged when he let go of the hammer. In the meantime, Baldwin continues to say that he did not pull the trigger since he would not point a gun at anyone.
