By Variety via
NBC News
Actor Alec Baldwin filed a lawsuit this Friday to "clear his name" in the case of the death of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer of the film
Rust
who died of a gunshot inflicted by the interpreter
,
and assured that the fault of the tragedy is three members of the team and the man who supplied ammunition to the set.
The four appear in a cross-complaint in response to a lawsuit originally filed against them last year by Mamie Mitchell, the film's script supervisor.
According to the court document, she trusted these four people to do her job and alleged that Hutchins died because of her negligence.
Hutchins died on October 21, 2021, on the set of the film in New Mexico.
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As a result, Baldwin says he has suffered "immense pain" and "emotional, physical and financial toll."
"More than anyone else on the set, Baldwin has been unfairly viewed as the perpetrator of this tragedy," wrote Luke Nikas, the actor's attorney.
"With these cross lawsuits, Baldwin seeks to clear his name and hold defendants accountable for his misconduct," he said.
In an interview granted two months after the tragedy to the ABC network, Baldwin defended himself by stating that he had not pulled the trigger of the gun.
"I have no idea how it happened," he said.
"Somebody put a real bullet in the gun, a bullet that wasn't even supposed to be on the property."
However, the FBI concluded that he did pull the trigger.
A film set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021. Jae C. Hong / AP
"A shameful attempt to shift the blame onto others"
The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office in New Mexico recently concluded its criminal investigation.
Local prosecutors are now studying the possibility of pressing charges against Baldwin or any of the team members.
[Videos Show What Happened Right After Alec Baldwin Shot On 'Rust' Set]
The cross complaint is a lengthy and detailed exoneration of Baldwin prepared by his attorneys, complete with text messages and photos from the authorities' investigation.
The document blames the film's prop gun manager, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, for "failing to do her job carefully and, as a result, a live projectile was loaded into the gun, which she negligently failed to identify."
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Baldwin also accuses David Halls, the director's first assistant, of not having checked the gun thoroughly and reproaches him for saying that it was “cold” – that is, that the cartridges were not loaded – when he handed it over to the actor.
The lawsuit further references prop master Sarah Zachry for failing to supervise Gutierrez Reed and ensure the set was safe.
Supplier Seth Kenney is another defendant for showing "a disregard for proper separation between live and dummy ammunition."
['Rust' director claims Alec Baldwin was practicing drawing his gun when he shot himself]
All four have denied guilt.
Gutierrez Reed sued Kenney for supplying him with real ammunition that closely resembled the fictional one, while Kenney claimed not to have included it in the box of fake cartridges he supplied to the set.
Attorney Gloria Allred, who represents the set supervisor, said in a statement Thursday that Baldwin should take responsibility for his actions.
"Baldwin's cross lawsuit is a shameful attempt to shift the blame onto others, as he has done since he shot Hutchins and injured our client, Mamie Mitchell," Allred said.
"Mr. Baldwin seems to argue that he is the only truly innocent one," he argued.
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In her lawsuit, Mitchell alleges that she was three feet away when the gun went off and suffered painful ringing in her ears, as well as emotional trauma.
In his accusation, he assures that the actor intentionally "cocked and fired the loaded weapon even though the scene that was going to be filmed did not require doing so."
Baldwin has attempted to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that on-set accidents are the exclusive purview of the New Mexico workers' compensation system.
On November 1, a Los Angeles judge denied his request.