New lawsuit claims Alec Baldwin 'played Russian roulette' by not checking weapon, deadly 'Rust' scene didn't call for gun to be fired
A new lawsuit claims that the fatal "Rust" movie scene did not call for Alec Baldwin to fire a gun. The "Rust" shooting took the life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. In the lawsuit, Mamie Mitchell — the script supervisor for the Western movie — noted that Baldwin acted "intentionally, without just cause or excuse" in the deadly shooting.
Mitchell announced the new lawsuit on Wednesday at a press conference in Los Angeles with her lawyer Gloria Allred.
"Mr. Baldwin chose to play Russian roulette when he fired a gun without checking it and without having the armorer do so in his presence," the high-power attorney said of the Oct. 21 shooting. "His behavior and that of the producers on 'Rust' was reckless."
Allred listed several safety protocols that were not followed during the filming of "Rust" in New Mexico. She noted that there was live ammunition on the movie set, people other than the armorer handled firearms, and that the fact that "safety bulletins were not promulgated or ignored makes this a case where injury or death was much more than just a possibility."
"Days before the shooting there were warning signs that there were dangerous conditions related to guns on the set," Allred said. "A camera operator had reported two gun discharges during a rehearsal in a cabin. 'This is super unsafe,' the camera operator wrote in a text message to the production manager."
Mitchell's lawsuit claimed, "Alec Baldwin intentionally, without just cause or excuse, cocked and fired and loaded gun even though the upcoming scene to be filmed did not call for the cocking and firing of a firearm."
Mitchell is claiming assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and deliberate infliction of harm. She is requesting unspecified damages.
Beside Baldwin, the lawsuit also names armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, prop master Sarah Zachry, and assistant producer Dave Halls, according to Fox News.
Baldwin was handed a .45 Colt revolver by Halls — who allegedly shouted "cold gun," meaning the firearm was not loaded with live rounds. Baldwin fired the gun and shot Hutchins and director Joel Souza at the Bonanza Creek Ranch studio. Souza was injured and recovered from his gunshot injuries, but Hutchins died.
Mitchell described the moment that the shooting happened.
"I saw Alec going through his movement with the gun for the camera," Mitchell said. "I was holding my script in my left hand and had taken out my iPhone and opened up my photos to check the continuity on his shirt and vest. Then an explosion. Deafening loud gunshot."
"I was stunned. I heard someone moaning and I turned around and my director was falling backwards and holding his upper body and I turned around toward Alec and saw Halyna going down to the left of me," she explained.
Mitchell "ran outside" and called 911.
"She was on a stretcher and not moving ... her left hand was on her stomach ... it was blue," Mitchell said of Hutchins.
"I could not believe this was happening," she said.
Last week, "Rust" lighting director Serge Svetnoy filed the first negligence lawsuit in the tragic shooting.
Svetnoy alleges that the bullet "narrowly missed him," and he was "no more than six to seven feet" from Baldwin when the gun went off "suddenly and completely unexpectedly," according to the Los Angeles Times. He adds that he was struck by "discharge materials from the blast."
Rust script supervisor sues Alec Baldwin after fatal shooting www.youtube.com
Unmasking the Biden-NYT Alliance: A Deep Dive into Media Bias | Stu Does America Ep 726