Fatal shooting: Alec Baldwin gets sued by 'Rust' crew member
What's the story
A crew member on the sets of Rust, where actor/producer Alec Baldwin accidentally fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October, is suing Baldwin and others on grounds of negligence. Serge Svetnoy, who was the chief of lighting, said he was standing near Hutchins at the time of the shooting and that he narrowly missed being hit. This is the first lawsuit in the matter.
Takeaways
Cinematographer Hutchins died because of the shooting last month
Late October, the Saturday Night Live star misfired a prop gun while shooting the Western movie in New Mexico. The shot, which fatally injured Hutchins (42), also wounded the director-writer Joel Souza. Court documents later showed an assistant director had called "cold gun" before handing the gun over to Baldwin. Allegations of unsafe working conditions have emerged repeatedly, with Baldwin dismissing them on Instagram.
Suit
Baldwin, armorer, co-producers accused of mishandling firearms, disregarding safety protocols
Now, Svetnoy's civil lawsuit that names nearly two dozen defendants claims that he was struck by "discharge materials from the blast" and also suffered emotionally. "They [Baldwin, armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, and other producers] knew that their conduct created a substantial risk of significant harm and risk of death, yet acted and continued to act in willful, wanton, reckless [manner]," the 63-year-old's suit read.
Claims
No idea how live rounds came on set: Armorer
Svetnoy also addressed a press conference, noting he doesn't blame any one person for the incident but "every person should do their job and take full responsibility for it." In an Instagram post earlier, the chief electrician had claimed they did not have professionals handling the firearms. Notably, Gutierrez Reed has stated she had no idea how live rounds got into the prop guns.
Recent
No arrests have been made in the ongoing investigation
The armorer's attorney has now said she was being "framed" in the case. Separately, Baldwin had temporarily shifted to Vermont with his wife Hilaria and kids after the incident. The couple also did an impromptu press conference recently where the actor called the accident "a one in a trillion event." The investigation into the incident is still underway and no arrests have been made.