Alec Baldwin offered no help to gunshot victims on 'Rust' set, wrongful death lawsuit alleges

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The moment Alec Baldwin accidentally discharged a .45-caliber revolver on the “Rust” movie set in Santa Fe in October, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins doubled over in pain, director Joel Souza stumbled back, and two camera operators ran over to help.

But the man holding the gun didn’t, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed Tuesday.

“Baldwin did not offer…any help to the victims,” lawyers for Hutchins’ widowed husband and son wrote in the complaint.

After the gun went off – just four feet away from Hutchins, she said, “I’m hit,” according to court filings. 

Halyna Hutchins’ widowed husband, Matthew, and son, Andros, have filed a wrongful death lawsuit following her fatal shooting on the "Rust" movie set in October.
(Hutchins family)

Souza yelled in pain after the bullet “ricocheted” through her body and into his shoulder.

Crew members moved in to help, and medics rushed to the scene. Baldwin, allegedly, gave no aid.

Hutchins ultimately died from her injuries, leaving behind her husband, Matthew, and son, Andros, who filed the wrongful death lawsuit.

Baldwin and numerous co-defendants named in the suit, including armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and assistant director David Halls, as well as production companies and producers, are accused of flouting industry standard firearm safety guidelines.

A wrongful death lawsuit alleges Alec Baldwin and the "Rust" movie’s other producers failed to adhere to industry safety standards.
(Fox News Digital)

Chief among the claims is that guns should never be pointed at anyone “unless absolutely necessary to do so on camera,” according to industry guidance.

“I think it’s clear what happened,” Brian Panish, the lead attorney for Hutchins’ husband and son, told reporters. “Alec had the gun in his hand. He shot it. Halyna was killed.”

He also alleged that Baldwin had declined weapons training and that the movie’s producers, which include Baldwin, were cutting corners and rushing the production.

Complaint- Hutchins Wrongful Death by Fox News on Scribd

A spokesperson for Baldwin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Santa Fe authorities are also investigating Hutchins’ death, which could result in criminal charges.

According to previous court filings, Halls allegedly handed Baldwin the loaded revolver and told him it was “cold,” or safe to use, moments before the shooting.

The movie set had seen at least two other accidental firearms discharges and an inadvertent sound effects explosion, according to the lawsuit, and a group of camera operators quit the movie over alleged concerns about lax safety protocols.

Lane Luper, who was the First Assistant Camera on the movie "Rust," speaks about working with cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a vigil held in her honor at Albuquerque Civic Plaza on October 23, 2021 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
(Sam Wasson/Getty Images)

Lane Luper, one of the camera men who walked off the job, texted unit production manager Katherine “Row” Walters days before Hutchins’ death to raise his concerns, according to the lawsuit.

“We’ve now had 3 accidental discharges,” he told her, according to a screenshot of the message included with the lawsuit. “This is super unsafe.”

“Accidental discharge on the firearms?” she allegedly replied. “Awesome.”

That was on Oct. 16. Five days later, the camera crew went on strike to protest the producers’ alleged inaction. Just after lunchtime, Hutchins suffered fatal her injuries. 

“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,” the lawsuit alleges.

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