The family of Halyna Hutchins, who was shot dead on the set of Rust in October last year, is suing Alec Baldwin and the film's producers for wrongful death, CBS News reports.
Hutchins, a 42-year-old cinematographer, was fatally shot on October 21, 2021, while preparing for a scene on a set in Santa Fe, New Mexico, when a gun held by the 30 Rock star accidentally went off.
Baldwin has since claimed in a tearful interview with ABC News that he did not pull the trigger of the gun at the time of the shooting.
Attorneys for the family of Halyna Hutchins announced the lawsuit in the names of Matthew Hutchins, the late cinematographer's husband, and Andros, the nine-year-old son they share, at a press conference in Los Angeles.
According to attorney Brian Pannish, the "reckless conduct and cost-cutting measures" of Baldwin and the movie's producers "led to the death of Halyna Hutchins".
The lawsuit also names producer Ryan Donnell Smith, assistant director Dave Halls, armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, and many others as defendants in the case.
The legal team representing the Hutchins family also created a video featuring an animated recreation of the shooting.
At the time of the accident, Baldwin had been pointing the firearm at Hutchins during rehearsals for a scene when it suddenly went off, fatally striking Hutchins' chest and injuring director Joel Souza.
In a statement to CBS News, an attorney for Baldwin and other Rust producers has denied claims that they were reckless where gun safety was concerned.
The attorney said: "He, Halyna, and the rest of the crew relied on the statement by the two professionals responsible for checking the gun that it was a 'cold gun' – meaning there is no possibility of a discharge, blank or otherwise.
"This protocol has worked on thousands of films, with millions of discharges, as there has never before been an incident on a set where an actual bullet harmed anyone. Actors should be able to rely on armorers and prop department professionals, as well as assistant directors, rather than deciding on their own when a gun is safe to use."
