It lot has happened since the tragic events on the set of the film “Rust” claimed the life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. There has been a lot of discussion and argument about who was responsible for putting a live weapon into the hands of Alec Baldwin. So many variables were in play about who was handling the gun, who checked it, who knew what, how the conditions onset were in general, etc.. At least one person has decided to take a counter-offensive to try to escape culpability- Alec Baldwin himself.
On November 11th, Baldwin filed a negligence lawsuit against multiple defendants in Los Angeles Superior Court. Those defendants include the armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, first assistant director David Halls, property master Sarah Zachry, and weapons and rounds supplier Seth Kenney. Essentially Baldwin has blamed nearly everyone in the potential chain of events that led up to the gun being fired. Gutierrez-Reed was was supposed to check the gun, Zachry allegedly failed to disclose that Gutierrez-Reed was “acting recklessly offset,” Halls was the person who handed Baldwin the gun on the set, and Kenney supplied the weapon that supposedly fired without Baldwin pulling the trigger.
Baldwin is alleging he’s lost jobs and income because of what happened on the set of “Rust.” The suit claims “more than anyone else on that set, Baldwin has been wrongfully viewed as the perpetrator of this tragedy.” So, he is seeking to “clear his name and hold Cross-Defendants accountable for their misconduct.” The nature of this kind of lawsuit makes it appear as if Baldwin is trying to hold everyone but himself responsible for what happened that day. Baldwin has adamantly declared that he did not pull the trigger on the gun.
When the tragedy first broke, we discussed the type of firearm used on the set and how guns are supposed to be handled. At the time, we weren’t aware if the gun used was a double or single action revolver; we now know that it is the latter. A single-action revolver needs to be cocked first for the trigger to work. It is very unlikely that a gun like this could just go off by accident, unless the trigger was pulled, since even the act of de-cocking it would not discharge a bullet. The FBI asserted this in their testing of that type of firearm.
Even though a settlement was reached in the death of Halyna Hutchins, this situation is far from over.
The Santa Fe district attorney still has yet to make a declaration regarding criminal charges and now we have this negligence suit filed by Baldwin that will take its course through the legal system. We’ll continue to monitor and report on this story through to its conclusion. Our continued condolences go out to the family of Halyna in hoping that the appropriate justice is served and no one else is subjected to an avoidable tragedy such as this.
