A video simulation that purports to show how Alec Baldwin allegedly shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” was released by lawyers representing Hutchins’s family in a wrongful death suit.
In the video, a figure that appears to be Baldwin is seen sitting at a church pew as renderings of the director, Joel Souza, Hutchins, and another person standing next to a camera. Then, the Baldwin figure produces a pistol and fires a shot, hitting the Hutchins figure.
Lawyers for Hutchins’s husband, Matthew, and their 9-year-old son filed a lawsuit earlier this week against Baldwin and the “Rust” producers for wrongful death.
Brian Panish, who represents the family, told reporters in a Southern California news conference that Baldwin and the producers engaged in “reckless conduct and cost-cutting measures” that “led to the death of Halyna Hutchins.” They also alleged Baldwin, 63, neglected to confirm whether the revolver had live rounds and further said he aimed the weapon at an unsafe distance from Hutchins and the others.
In statements to news outlets this week, lawyers for Baldwin and the other producers said that Baldwin, Hutchins, and other crew members “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.”
Such a protocol, they said, “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.“ They added that ”any claim that Alec was reckless is entirely false.”
Baldwin has not been charged with a crime. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, who has released few statements on the investigation since October 2021, told Fox News at the time, “I’d be careful using the word ‘accident.'” It’s not clear whether Baldwin will face any charges.
During an ABC News interview aired in December, Baldwin said he felt sadness over Hutchins’ death but said he wasn’t responsible. Baldwin also alleged that he “didn’t pull the trigger.”
However, Panish this week cited the 3-D video and said, “I think it’s clear what happened. Alec had the gun in his hand, he shot it, Halyna was killed.”
The lawsuit doesn’t name the amount the Hutchins family is seeking.
“A longtime marriage, a soulmate is lost, and a boy to be raised without a mother at a young age is a tremendous loss,” Panish said.
