“This tragedy happened because live ammunition was sent to the set and loaded into the gun, Gutierrez-Reid didn’t double check the bullet or the gun, Hals didn’t double check the gun and announced before handing the gun over to Baldwin The guns were safe, and Zachary’s failure to disclose Gutierrez-Reed’s reckless behavior off-set posed a safety hazard to those around her,” Nikas wrote.
The defendants could not be immediately reached by The Washington Post on Friday evening.
In October 2021, Baldwin was inside a church building in Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, practicing pulling the trigger when the gun went off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. It’s unclear why the prop had live ammunition on it.
According to interviews conducted by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, crews on set saw and heard Halls retrieve a .45 Long Colt revolver from Gutierrez-Reed, declare it a “cold gun,” and Give it to Baldwin. The industry term means there are no live rounds in the weapon.
After Hutchins was shot in the chest, a New Mexico medical examiner ruled Hutchins’ death was accidental. An FBI report indicated that the gun was unable to fire without the trigger being pulled.
Baldwin’s lawsuit is the latest in the wake of the shooting: Gutierrez-Reid sued Kenny, saying he was responsible for the live ammunition at the scene. Script executive Mamie Mitchell sued several people, including Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed and Halls, over workplace safety allegations.
Halyna Hutchins’ husband, Matthew Hutchins, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit this year against Baldwin and other entities involved in the production, seeking compensatory and punitive damages. The defendants settled the lawsuit last month.
After news of the settlement broke, Matthew Hutchins called his wife’s death a “terrible accident”.
“I have no interest in engaging in finger-pointing or blaming [to the producers or Mr. Baldwin],” Hutchins said in a statement last month after reaching a settlement with the actor. “We all agree that Halyna’s death was a terrible accident. “
Filming will resume next year, with Matthew Hutchins serving as executive producer, according to the statement.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office filed an investigation report with local prosecutors in October, but the findings have not been made public. Local prosecutors have not filed criminal charges for the shooting.