Rust: Alec Baldwin & other producers sued by the family of Halyna Hutchins for wrongful death

The family of Halyna Hutchins, who was fatally shot during an on-set shooting on the film Rust, has made their first big move against the production regarding her death and Alec Baldwin is one of the parties named in their wrongful death lawsuit.

The wrongful death suit was filed yesterday and it says, in part, “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.” Named in the suit include star/producer Baldwin, key crew members, such as armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed and Assistant Director David Halls, a slew of production companies and entities, and various producers, per Deadline.

Alec Baldwin has made several public statements saying that, despite holding the gun that discharged the fatal bullet that also struck director Joel Souza in the shoulder, he is not responsible for what happened to Hutchins. He even said during an ABC interview that he didn’t fire the gun and merely started to cock the gun and released the hammer. The lawsuit filed for Hutchins wrongful death does hold him as one of the people accountable and goes on to state that, “Defendant Baldwin, the Producers, and the Rust Production Companies were aware of firearms safety issues that had occurred on the set of Rust and did not take action to correct the situation and ensure that basic gun safety rules were followed on October 21, 2021. Had Defendant Baldwin, the Producers, and the Rust Production Companies taken adequate precautions to ensure firearm safety on the set of Rust or if basic firearm safety rules had been followed on the set of Rust on October 21, 2021, Halyna Hutchins would be alive and well, hugging her husband and nine-year old son.”

It’s also very clear from the lawsuit that they believe a lot of corners were cut while making Rust. They say that armorer Hannah Guitierrez-Reed wasn’t onsite in the church when Hutchins was shot, and that assistant director Dave Halls wasn’t qualified in weapons safety. Additionally, they allege that Baldwin refused weapons training, and should have used a rubber prop gun. They also argue that there should have been protective glass in front of the crew, who were four feet away from Baldwin, or they should have been wearing protective gear.

Perhaps the most jarring evidence presented during the press conference for the wrongful death lawsuit was a video-game-like animated and narrated video depicting the sequence of events that witnesses say occurred on the Rust set before the shot went off. There is no actual video evidence of what happened that day but the sometimes vivid animated reenactment provides eerie insight into what happened during the last moments of Hutchins’ life. Also, interwoven with the animated video, were notes from crew members indicating tension on the set over alleged misappropriation of safety. There are also claims that there were two accidental weapon discharges and an explosive that went off between takes prior to Hutchins’ death and Souza’s injury.

In response to the lawsuit, lawyers for Alec Baldwin and fellow Ruse producers are declaring that “any claim that Alec was reckless is entirely false.” That statement goes on to say, “Everyone’s hearts and thoughts remain with Halyna’s family as they continue to process this unspeakable tragedy. We continue to cooperate with the authorities to determine how live ammunition arrived on the Rust set in the first place.”

What are YOUR thoughts on the latest turn of events regarding the Rust tragedy?