Baldwin sued over Rust shooting

LOS ANGELES • American actor Alec Baldwin is being sued by a Rust crew member over the fatal on-set shooting of a cinematographer last month, lawyers said on Wednesday.

The negligence suit also names armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who claimed through her legal representatives she was being "framed" for the death of Halyna Hutchins.

The low-budget movie's chief lighting technician Serge Svetnoy said in the suit that the accidental killing "was caused by the negligent acts and omissions" of lead actor and producer Baldwin and others.

"Simply put, there was no reason for a live bullet to be placed in that .45 Colt revolver or to be present anywhere on the Rust set, and the presence of a bullet in a revolver posed a lethal threat to everyone in its vicinity," the suit, submitted to a Los Angeles court, added.

It said Svetnoy felt the bullet fly by him and was hit in the face by gunpowder and "residual materials".

Baldwin, assistant director Dave Halls and Gutierrez-Reed did not follow film industry practice on the handling of weapons and "allowed a revolver loaded with live ammunition to be pointed at living persons", the suit alleged.

Hutchins, 42, was shot and killed as Baldwin rehearsed a scene in the 19th-century western in which he fires a gun at the camera.

The Emmy winner was handed the firearm by Halls, who declared it "cold" - industry lingo for an inert weapon. He later told investigators he had not fully checked it.

The live bullet passed through Hutchins and hit director Joel Souza in the shoulder.

As the film's armourer, Gutierrez-Reed, 24, was responsible for firearms and ammunition.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, her lawyers insisted again she did not know why there was a live round on the set.

"We are asking for a full and complete investigation of all of the facts, including the live rounds themselves, how they ended up in the 'dummies' box, and who put them in there," attorney Jason Bowles said.

"We are convinced that this was sabotage and Hannah is being framed. We believe that the scene was tampered with as well before the police arrived."

Mr Bowles said Gutierrez-Reed had met investigators from the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office again and "offered to share additional, critical information" with them.

Santa Fe county district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, rejected the notion of a conspiracy.

"I know that some defence attorneys have come up with conspiracy theories and have used the word 'sabotage'. We do not have any proof," she told Good Morning America.

Asked whether she thought sabotage was a possibility, she said: "No."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS