After tragedy on the set
Twist in the “Rust” case: Alec Baldwin blames the camerawoman who was suddenly killed himself
Alec Baldwin wielded the gun that fired the fatal shot at Halyna Hutchins.
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Even months after the accident on the film set of “Rust”, there is still no peace. After being sued by several people, Alec Baldwin has now come out with his take on the matter – and blamed the tragedy on the dead woman herself.
After the “Rust” tragedy, Hollywood star Alec Baldwin has apparently submitted new documents to the court to exonerate him. According to CNN, the Hollywood star explains in it, camerawoman Halyna Hutchins (1979-2021) told him to unlock the gun that killed her. The accident happened in October 2021 on the set of the western “Rust” during rehearsals. The gun Baldwin fired was apparently accidentally loaded with live ammunition.
The new court documents, obtained by CNN, are said to detail Baldwin’s version of the tragedy. The actor claims he asked Hutchins if he should cock the gun and she told him to do it, according to the report. Baldwin cocked the gun but not far enough to fire it, sources say. When Baldwin let go of the hammer, the gun went off.
Who is to blame?
According to CNN, lawyers for the Hutchins family said, among other things, “Alec Baldwin is again attempting to avoid liability and responsibility for his reckless actions prior to and on October 21 that resulted in the death of Halyna Hutchins,” according to the new Rust documents -Production company showed.
The court papers also allegedly allege that when Baldwin arrived on set in New Mexico, he completed a training session with the film’s weapons expert, Hannah Gutierrez Reed. He is said to have learned that he did not have to check the weapon for live ammunition.
“Reed did not instruct Baldwin to inspect the gun himself. In fact, she told Baldwin that it was her job to inspect the gun – not his,” the documents read, according to CNN. Also, based on previous gun safety training he received on film sets, the actor is said to have believed he didn’t need to check guns for live ammunition.
Baldwin had apparently been critical of the weapons experts before. At an appearance in Colorado, according to media reports, he recently said that if two security officers put a supposedly safe weapon in your hand, then “I assume that the weapon is safe.” Although he didn’t mention their names, he could only really mean David Halls and Hannah Gutierrez Reed.
Multiple lawsuits
Assistant director Halls handed the gun to the Baldwin investigation. Gutierrez Reed was the weapons master on the “Rust” set and in turn sued the film’s props supplier. But Gutierrez Reed also made allegations against lead actor Baldwin in her lawsuit. On October 15, shortly before the incident, he did not respond to her request to practice the so-called “crossdraw”, i.e. drawing the weapon crosswise. However, it is precisely during this maneuver by Baldwin that the shot that killed Hutchins is said to have gone off. Previously, Rust’s chief lighting engineer Serge Svetnoy and script supervisor Mamie Mitchell had filed civil suits against Baldwin.
Hutchin’s survivors are also taking legal action against the star. Baldwin’s lawsuit alleges “reckless” conduct. Widower Matthew Hutchins also said in a TV interview: “The idea that the person holding the gun and triggering it is not responsible is absurd to me.”