Alec Baldwin “intentionally” fired a gun toward cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the “Rust” movie set, disregarding set protocol in the deadly shooting, according to a new lawsuit filed Wednesday.
“I saw Alec going through his movement with the gun for the camera,” said Mamie Mitchell, the script supervisor on set who called 911 when Baldwin shot and killed Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza on Oct. 21.
“I was holding my script in my left hand and had taken out my iPhone and opened up my photos to check the continuity on his shirt and vest.,” she said. “Then an explosion. Deafening loud gunshot.”
“I was stunned. I heard someone moaning and I turned around and my director was falling backwards and holding his upper body and I turned around toward Alec and saw Halyna going down to the left of me.”
In the suit, Mitchell claimed, “Alec Baldwin intentionally, without just cause or excuse, cocked and fired and loaded gun even though the upcoming scene to be filmed did not call for the cocking and firing of a firearm.”
She also said every safety protocol designed to ensure safety with a firearm on set was ignored, such as the presence of live ammunition on set, and that “actions that were taken” that day “were against all industry norms.”
Hanna Gutierrez-Reed, who was the armorer on the “Rust” set, is also named as a defendant in the suit against the actor and the movie production company.
During a press conference Wednesday in Los Angeles, her attorney, Gloria Allred, said there were warning signs of the dangerous conditions on the set related to guns just days before the Oct. 21 shooting. She said a camera operator reported there were two gun discharges during a rehearsal in one of the cabin shots. The camera operator allegedly told a production manager in a text, “This is super unsafe,” Allred said.
The attorney added the events that led to the shooting does not constitute “simple negligence” because Baldwin, the producers and others were “reckless” by not following strict guidelines when it comes to having live ammunition and guns on a set.
In the complaint, Mitchell said Baldwin, “being an industry veteran,” should have known that a Prop Master or an Armorer is the only person who should hand him a gun. Mitchell said the Assistant Director should not have handed Baldwin the gun, and that the actor should’ve known that he could not rely on the Assistant Director’s representation that it was a “cold gun.”
Mitchell is suing for an unspecified amount for loss of future earnings, special and general damages, attorneys fees and punitive damages.
At the press conference, Mitchell said she is haunted by the memories of seeing her colleagues and friends shot in front of her.
“I relive the shooting and sound of the explosion from the gun over and over again,” Mitchell said.
“I am depressed. I don’t feel safe. I feel that at any moment anything could happen to me and to those that I care about that are standing close to me,” she said. “I do not have a sense of guardrails in my life to keep me safe. I’m frightened of the future. This violent tragedy has taken away the joy in my life.”
Baldwin did not respond to a request for comment.
