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Alec Baldwin is being sued by Halyna Hutchinsโ family.
The 63-year-old actorโs prop gun accidentally went off on the set of โRustโ in October, killing the cinematographer and injuring director Joel Souza and now it has been revealed the former โ30 Rockโ star has been named in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Halynaโs husband Matthew and nine-year-old son Andros.
Attorney Brian Panish said at a press conference: โThe lawsuit, as you can see, names Alec Baldwin and others who were responsible for the safety on the set, and whose reckless behaviour and cost-cutting led to the senseless and tragic death of Halyna Hutchins.โ
The lawsuit blames the actor and others on the set โ including armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, and assistant director David Hall โ for Halynaโs death as it alleges they were responsible for โnumerous violations of industry standards.โ
The lawsuit, which was filed in New Mexico on Tuesday (15.02.22), lists alleged lapses in safety which the family believed led to their loved oneโs tragic death, including having live ammo on set and the Westernโs crew failing to treat the weapon as if it was a loaded gun.
It also claimed Alec was just four feet away from members of the crew when he took the gun from its holster.
The suit stated: โHe released the revolverโs hammer, and โ BAM โ defendant Baldwin fired the revolver.โ
Alec and others are accused of taking dangerous cost-cutting measures โ including hiring inexperienced armorers and rushed production schedules โ and the documents include text messages allegedly sent by a concerned camera operator, who had claimed there had been โthree accidental dischargesโ.
The texts were received by the unit manager, who the lawsuit accused of responding โwith callous sarcasmโ.
After being told about the โsuper unsafeโ accidental discharges, the unit manager allegedly replied: โAccidental discharge on the firearms? Cool. Sounds good.โ
An investigation into the shooting is still ongoing.
Alec previously insisted he didnโt know the gun was loaded and did not pull the trigger when it went off during rehearsal.
He said in December: โI would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger at them. The notion there was a live round in that gun did not dawn on me until about 45 minutes later.โ