‘Reckless and cost-cutting’ Alec Baldwin is sued by family of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins as they recreate moment he accidentally shot and killed her with prop gun on New Mexico set
- Halyna Hutchins’ husband and son are suing Alec Baldwin and others associated with production of Western Rust after the actor shot her deadÂ
- Lawyers claims ‘reckless behavior and cost-cutting’ led to cinematographer’s death in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in October 2021Â
- Complaint alleges Baldwin had ‘refused’ training for the kind of gun draw he was doing when he accidentally shot HutchinsÂ
- A video created by the attorneys showed a 3D animated recreation of the shooting
- It shows a computer-generated avatar representing Baldwin accepting the Colt from David Halls, pointing it in Hutchins’ direction, and firingÂ
- The animation shows that the bullet in the chamber was live and not a ‘dummy’ with a hole drilled into it. The round strikes Hutchins, who clutches her chest and collapses in the video
- Baldwin, who was seen out in New York City’s West Village on Tuesday, has not commented on the lawsuitÂ
Lawyers for slain Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins have recreated her death in a 3D animation showing how Alec Baldwin shot her in the chest with a prop gun on the New Mexico set as they sued the actor and the low-budget film’s producers on Tuesday for wrongful death.
Baldwin was holding a Colt revolver during a rehearsal on set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe when he fired a live round on October 21, 2021, killing Hutchins.
He has maintained that it was Hutchins herself who asked him to point the gun just off camera and toward her armpit before it went off. Director Joel Souza also was wounded in the shooting.
The civil lawsuit, filed in New Mexico on Tuesday, is seeking unspecified but ‘substantial’ damages, including punitive damages.
Attorney Brian Panish, representing Hutchins’ husband, Matthew Hutchins, and their young son, Andros, held a press conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday to announce the lawsuit against Baldwin and ‘others who are responsible for the safety on set, and whose reckless behavior and cost-cutting led to the senseless, tragic death of Halyna Hutchins,’ he said.
According to Panish, his firm has conducted an independent investigation that he said uncovered ‘numerous violations of industry standards’ by Baldwin and the other defendants named in the complaint, among them Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, assistant director David Halls and several production companies attached to the project.
‘There are many people culpable, but Mr. Baldwin was the person holding the weapon … that but for him shooting, she would not have died,’ Panish said.
At least three other lawsuits have been filed over the shooting, but this is the first directly tied to one of the two people shot.
A 10-minute video created by the attorneys showed a 3D animated recreation of the shooting during a rehearsal in a church.
It shows a computer-generated avatar representing Baldwin accepting the Colt gun from Halls, pointing it in Hutchins’ direction, and firing.
The animation shows that the bullet in the chamber was live and not a ‘dummy’ with a hole drilled into it. The round strikes Hutchins, who clutches her chest and collapses in the video.