While no criminal charges have bee filed yet, a number of civil suits have been filed against Alex Baldwin as well as producers after Alec Baldwin’s accidental shooting and killing of cinemaphotographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust.
Baldwin claims he was handed the gun by assistant producer Dave Halls, and head armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed says she has no idea how live ammo got on set. Her attorney has gone as far as to suggest that intentional sabotage played a part.
According to FOX News, Attorney Gloria Allred held a Wednesday press conference, stating that the script supervisor on the set of Rust, Mamie Mitchell, is the latest to file a lawsuit against the actor and producers.
Mitchell is claiming assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and deliberate infliction of harm in the lawsuit, which also names armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, prop master Sarah Zachry, and assistant producer Dave Halls.
The lawsuit claims that Baldwin:
“Intentionally, without just cause or excuse, cocked and fired the loaded gun.”
It also noted that the upcoming scene:
“Did not call for the cocking and firing of a firearm.”
It also states that Baldwin pointed it at Hutchins, Joel Souza, and Mitchell even though it was against protocol.
“Days before the shooting there were warning signs that there were dangerous conditions related to the guns on set. A camera operator had reported two gun discharges during a rehearsal in a cabin. ‘This is super unsafe,’ the camera operator wrote in a text message to the production manager.”
Mitchell and her attorney claim that Baldwin was aware of the protocol, yet refused to follow it.
“Mr. Baldwin chose to play Russian roulette when he fired a gun without checking it and without having the armorer do so in his presence. His behavior and that of the producers on ‘Rust’ was reckless.”
Mitchell then recalled the tragic accident that resulted in the death:
“I turned and my director was falling backwards. Halyna was falling to the left of me.”
She then said she ran outside to call 911.
“She (Halyna) was on a stretcher and not moving… her left hand was on her stomach… it was blue.
I could not believe what was happening. I’ve lost a new friend who was an extraordinary and rare person. I’ve been robbed of my new friend.”
Mitchell now joins the set’s gaffer Serge Svetnoy as the only two taking legal action thus far.
In Svetnoy’s lawsuit, he said that Baldwin “owed a duty” to the plaintiff and crew members to treat the prop gun like a loaded weapon, and that he only needed to aim it at the camera and not at anyone.
He also said he was struck by “discharge materials” from the gunshot, with a projectile barely missing him. He said the accident caused injury and emotional distress.
In a recent Instagram post, Alec called for a police presence on set to monitor weapons safety.
