Weapons safety expert reveals how Alec Baldwin could have unintentionally pulled the trigger
Weapons safety expert for films Steve Wolf gives his take on Baldwin facing involuntary manslaughter charges in 'Rust' shooting on 'The Story.'
Alec Baldwin is being sued by the family of Halyna Hutchins after the cinematographer died on the set of "Rust."
Hutchins was killed on Oct. 21, 2021, after a gun Baldwin was holding fired on the New Mexico movie set.
Attorney Gloria Allred filed a lawsuit alleging battery, loss of consortium, infliction of emotional distress and more on behalf of Hutchins' mother, sister and father, Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Allred further claimed that Hutchins was financially responsible for her family and had plans to bring them with her to live in America.
The lawsuit names Baldwin, producers of "Rust" and other defendants the lawyer argued are responsible for the death of Hutchins.
Allred told reporters that Baldwin had not reached out to the family and offered an apology since the fatal shooting on Oct. 21, 2021.
Alec Baldwin gives a thumbs up as news breaks of a new lawsuit filed on behalf of Halyna Hutchins' family. (TheImageDirect.com)
Photos of Hutchins along with her mother, father, sister and son were shown during the press conference. Her mother and sister made an appearance via video, where they gave a statement for the first time. The video was translated from Russian to English.
"We are the sister and the mother of Halyna Hutchins. To lose my sister, at least personally for me, was a horrible experience," Hutchins' sister Svetlana Zemko said. "And it is one of the biggest losses of my life. And even more devastating is to see the utter suffering of our parents and how their health has sharply declined. "It is for this reason that I would like those who are at fault, for somebody to carry that responsibility. And not just someone, but that very someone who is truly responsible for this. I believe to let this go and to leave this unpunished is unallowable."
The new civil lawsuit comes as Baldwin faces criminal charges in connection to Hutchins' death.
"[This lawsuit] impacts him greatly because part of his strategy in resolving the criminal case revolves around whether or not he is seen as being culpable," PR expert Eric Schiffer told Fox News Digital. "So, if he pleads guilty, that could hurt him on the civil side."
Alec Baldwin is facing two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Halyna Hutchins. (Fox News Digital)
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Halyna Hutchins and her sister, Svetlana Zemko. (Provided by attorney Gloria Allred)
A wrongful death lawsuit was previously filed against Baldwin and other key members of the production on Feb. 15, 2022, by Hutchins' husband Matthew Hutchins.
However, Hutchins' mother, father and sister were not included at the time.
"So, generally speaking, when you have a wrongful death lawsuit, it can only be brought by the next of kin," former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani explained to Fox News Digital. "And in a case like this, when there's a surviving husband or spouse and children, they have the wrongful death. But the sister and parents do not."
Halyna Hutchins with her mother, Olga Solovey, and her son, Andros. (Provided by attorney Gloria Allred)
Halyna Hutchins' father, Anatolii Androsovych, with her son, Andros. (Provided by attorney Gloria Allred)
The lawsuit named Baldwin and others who "are responsible for the safety on the set" and called out "reckless behavior and cost-cutting" that led to the death of Hutchins, according to the family's lawyer.
Matthew Hutchins' attorneys interviewed witnesses before filing and created a video compiling evidence for the wrongful death lawsuit. In the video shared at a press conference, Hutchins' lawyers reiterated claims from crew members that the "Rust" set was unsafe. The lawsuit claimed that Baldwin, who was also a producer on the film, and other "Rust" crew and cast committed "major breaches" of safety on the set.
The cinematographer's family sued for punitive damages and funeral and burial expenses among other things originally to be determined at trial. However, on Oct. 5, Matthew Hutchins announced the civil lawsuit had been settled pending court approval.
Baldwin was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter on Jan. 31 — over a year after Hutchins' death.
Aerial photo from Bonanza Creek Ranch shows the church where actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun. (Associated Press)
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Prosecutors laid out their case against Baldwin in specific detail in the probable cause statement also released Jan. 31.
"Baldwin's deviation from known standards, practice and protocol directly caused the fatal death of Hutchins," the documents state.
"By not receiving the required training on firearms, not checking the firearm with the armorer, letting the armorer leave the firearms in the church without being present, deviating from the practice of only accepting the firearm from the armorer, not dealing with the safety complaints on set and/or making sure safety meetings were held, putting his finger on the trigger of a real firearm when a replica or rubber gun should have been used, pointing the firearms at Hutchins and Souza, and the overall handling of the firearms in a negligent manner, Baldwin acted with willful disregard for the safety of others and in a manner which endangered other people, specifically Hutchins and Souza."
Baldwin's lawyer called the charging a "terrible miscarriage of justice" in a previous statement to Fox News Digital.
"This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins’ tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice," Luke Nikas of Quinn Emanuel said. "Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun — or anywhere on the movie set. He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win."
Hutchins' family thanked the sheriff's office and the DA after the charges were announced.
"We want to thank the Santa Fe Sheriff and the District Attorney for concluding their thorough investigation and determining that charges for involuntary manslaughter are warranted for the killing of Halyna Hutchins with conscious disregard for human life," a statement issued on behalf of the Hutchins family via attorney Brian J. Panish, founding partner of Panish Shea Boyle Ravipudi LLP said.
"Our independent investigation also supports charges are warranted. It is a comfort to the family that, in New Mexico, no one is above the law. We support the charges, will fully cooperate with this prosecution, and fervently hope the justice system works to protect the public and hold accountable those who break the law."
Armorer Hannah Guiterrez-Reed and assistant director Dave Halls were the only other crew members believed to have handled the gun that fired on set.
Halls allegedly handed Baldwin a .45 revolver, telling him that it was "cold," or safe. Prior to that, Gutierrez-Reed spun the cylinder to show Halls what was in the gun, her lawyer said.
Baldwin has maintained that he did not pull the trigger of the gun — once during a primetime interview shortly following the deadly shooting and again on a podcast episode. The actor originally said he had pulled the hammer of the gun back as far as he could and released it, but did not pull the trigger.
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