Alec Baldwin had no reason to fire gun on Rust set, new lawsuit alleges

A lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges that Alec Baldwin recklessly fired a gun when it wasn't called for in the script when he shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza on the New Mexico set of the film Rust.

"There was nothing in the script about the gun being discharged by DEFENDANT BALDWIN or by any other person," the lawsuit from script supervisor Mamie Mitchell says.

The lawsuit is the second to stem from the shooting, with many more expected.

Like last week's from head of lighting Serge Svetnoy, it was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and names many defendants including Baldwin, who was both star and a producer; David Halls, the assistant director who handed Baldwin the gun; and Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who was in charge of weapons on the set.

Mitchell's suit focuses mainly on Baldwin's actions. It said she was standing next to Hutchins and within four feet (1.2 metres) of the actor, and was stunned when he fired the gun inside the tiny church on Bonanza Creek Ranch on Oct. 21.

WATCH | Prop weapon protocol on film sets extremely tight, says Canadian specialist:

Prop weapons protocol on film sets extremely tight, says Canadian specialist

3 years ago

Duration 9:09

There are very strict laws around handling prop weapons during a film shoot and even blank ammunition is loaded in front of the crew, says Seth Rossman, a Toronto armaments specialist for film and TV productions. (Adria Malcolm/Reuters)

According to discussions before the scene was filmed, it called for three tight shots of Baldwin: one on his eyes, one on a blood stain on his shoulder, and one on his torso as he pulled the gun from a holster, the suit says.

There was no call for Baldwin to point the gun toward Hutchins and Souza, nor to fire it, the suit says.

And it alleges Baldwin violated protocol by not checking the gun more carefully.

"Mr. Baldwin chose to play Russian roulette when he fired a gun without checking it, and without having the armourer do so in his presence," Mitchell's attorney Gloria Allred said at a news conference.

A veteran script supervisor who has worked on nearly 100 productions, Mitchell was on a set for the first time since the pandemic began. She was the first to call 911 after the shooting, the suit says.

She suffered "serious physical trauma and shock and injury to her nervous system," the suit says, without giving details.

She is seeking both compensation and punitive damages in amounts to be determined later.

Lawyers and other representatives for the defendants had no immediate comment.

Baldwin said on video on Oct. 30 that the shooting was a "one-in-a-trillion event" saying, "We were a very, very well-oiled crew shooting a film together and then this horrible event happened."

Mitchell's suit alleges that the armourer on the production, Gutierrez Reed, had minimal experience, and she was hired as one of several cost-cutting measures that proved dangerous.

It says she violated protocol by allowing guns and ammunition to be unattended during a lunch break.

Gutierrez Reed told authorities she does not know how a live round ended up in the gun. Her lawyer Jason Bowles said in a statement last week that "we are convinced this was sabotage and Hannah is being framed. We believe that the scene was tampered with as well before the police arrived."

Santa Fe-area district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said last week that investigators have encountered no proof of sabotage.