Alec Baldwin named in new lawsuit over fatal ‘Rust’ shooting
Written by ABC Audio All Rights Reserved on June 7, 2024
Days after happily announcing he and wife Hilaria will be starring in a family reality show for TLC, some bad news for Alec Baldwin.
The star has been named in a civil lawsuit filed in the First Judicial District of New Mexico in connection to the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer on his Western film Rust.
Attorney Gloria Allred said in a statement that the suit was filed “on behalf of Halyna’s mother, Olga Solovey, her father, Anatolii Androsovych, her younger sister, Svetlana Zemko, and Mamie Mitchell, who was the film’s Script Supervisor and was standing approximately 4 feet from Mr. Baldwin in the line of fire with Halyna by her side.”
The complaint alleges battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence in the 2021 incident. Director Joel Souza was also injured when the Colt-style revolver Baldwin was aiming discharged.
The movie’s armorer Hannah Gutierrez is currently behind bars after being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; live ammunition had accidentally been loaded into Baldwin’s firearm.
Baldwin was also charged with involuntary manslaughter in January 2024 and pleaded not guilty later that month.
The new civil suit says, “Defendant Baldwin intentionally, and without just cause or excuse, cocked and fired the loaded gun” even though the scene did not call for it, and “without just cause or excuse pointed and then fired the gun towards individuals including Halyna Hutchins, even though protocol was not to do so.”
The complaint later adds, “Defendant Baldwin chose to play Russian Roulette with a loaded gun without checking it or having the Armorer do so.”
Baldwin insisted to ABC News that he did not pull the trigger on the weapon. He faces trial in July after a New Mexico judge denied the actor’s bid to dismiss the indictment.
As of press time, attorneys for Baldwin have yet to respond to the suit.
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