A senior crew member on the set of the movie Rust has filed suit against Alec Baldwin, armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and assistant director Dave Halls over the fatal October 21 shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Serge Svetnoy was a key gaffer on the production — the person responsible for positioning lights for the camera — and incidentally, the crew member who posted what is believed to be the last photo of Hutchins alive.
TMZ reports Svetnoy is suing the previously mentioned people, and others, claiming their negligence led to the shooting that killed Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza, when Baldwin fired a live round at the pair from what he was allegedly told by Halls was a “cold,” or empty, pistol.
The suit claims Baldwin “owed a duty to the Plaintiff and [others] on the ‘Rust’ set to handle the Colt Revolver provided to him by defendant Halls with reasonable care and diligence for the safety of ‘Rust’ cast and crew.”
It also says, “This duty called for Defendant Baldwin to double-check the Colt Revolver…to ensure that it did not contain live ammunition.”
Furthermore, the suit claims Baldwin wasn’t supposed to pull the trigger, because he was just rehearsing.
Svetnoy claims that the bullet that struck both Hutchins and Souza nearly struck him, too, and that he rendered aid to his friend after she was shot. The incident left him with severe emotional distress, TMZ quotes the suit as declaring. Svetnoy also reportedly claims in the suit that guns acquired for Rust were in fact also being used for target practice, something an attorney for Gutierrez-Reed denies.
Investigators say live rounds, blanks and dummy rounds were found on the set. Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney recently told ABC’s Good Morning America that he believes someone intentionally placed a live round in a box of dummy ammunition.
Authorities haven’t ruled out criminal charges in the case as the investigation continues.
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