Alec Baldwin Files Lawsuit in Deadly “Rust” Shooting to “Clear His Name” – Accuses Crew of Negligence

Alec Baldwin filed a cross-complaint on Friday and is looking to “clear his name” after the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” last October.

Baldwin’s lawsuit alleges negligence by armorer Hannah Guttierez-Reed; prop master Sarah Zachry; first assistant director and safety coordinator David Halls, who handed Baldwin the gun; ammunition supplier Seth Kenney and his company, PDQ Arm & Prop, which also supplied prop weapons for the production.

All have previously denied responsibility for the fatal shooting.

A rep for Guttierez-Reed provided Fox News Digital with the following statement regarding the case.

“Baldwin is the one responsible for this tragedy. He pointed the weapon and pulled the trigger,” Guttierez-Reed’s lawyer argued.

Baldwin named those four individuals as cross-defendants in a suit filed against him last year. In court documents obtained by Fox News Digital, Baldwin claimed he relied on the four individuals to make sure the movie set was safe. 

He noted he has felt “immense grief” and faced an “emotional, physical and financial toll.”

Alec Baldwin puts the blame on the tragic “Rust” shooting death on three of the crew members and the ammunition supplier.
(Jim Spellman)

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“There can be no doubt that others have suffered from Cross-Defendants’ negligence far more than Baldwin has,” Baldwin’s attorney, Luke Nikas of Quinn Emanuel, wrote in the suit, referencing the death of Hutchins, how Hutchins’ son lost his mother and how director Joel Souza suffered a shoulder injury. 

“Though by no means comparable, Baldwin must live with the immense grief, and the resulting emotional, physical, and financial toll, caused by the fact that Cross-Defendants’ negligent conduct, assurances, and supervision put a loaded weapon in his hand and led him, Hutchins, and everyone else on set to believe that his directed use of the weapon was safe,” the suit went on to say. 

“More than anyone else on that set, Baldwin has been wrongfully viewed as the perpetrator of this tragedy. By these Cross-Claims, Baldwin seeks to clear his name and hold Cross-Defendants accountable for their misconduct.”

This aerial photo shows the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, N.M., Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021. Halyna Hutchins died when a gun Alec Baldwin was holding fired while practicing a scene for “Rust.”
(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong  |  Photo by Fred Hayes/Getty Images for SAGindie)

On the anniversary of Hutchins death, Baldwin took to Instagram to share a tribute to the late cinematographer.

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“One year ago today…” Baldwin, 64, captioned the image of Hutchins. The actor limited the comments on the Instagram post, but fans were able to write a few thoughts. 

“Such a sad day for you all,” one person wrote. “My deepest sympathies to her family and to you,” added another person. Others slammed Baldwin for sharing the post, with one person writing: “Inappropriate. This could be very misunderstood.” 

“You’re a bold one,” said another commenter. 

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Hutchins died when a gun Baldwin was holding fired while practicing a scene on the New Mexico movie set on Oct. 21, 2021. The group had been rehearsing in a small church on the Bonanza Creek Ranch set.

Baldwin has maintained that he did not pull the trigger of the gun — once during a primetime interview shortly following the deadly shooting and again on a recent podcast episode. The actor originally said he had pulled the hammer of the gun back as far as he could and released it.

New Mexico’s Office of the Medical Investigator determined the shooting was an accident. However, prosecutors are reviewing the shooting to determine whether criminal charges should be filed.

In April, New Mexico’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau imposed the maximum fine of $137,000 against Rust Movie Productions and distributed a scathing narrative of safety failures, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires of blank ammunition on set prior to the fatal shooting. The company is challenging the fine.

In October, Hutchins’ family announced they had agreed to settle another lawsuit against the actor and the movie’s producers, and producers said they aimed to restart the project in January.

Fox News Digital’s Ashley Hume and The Associated Press contributed to this report