Rust Crew Member Sues Alec Baldwin, Others

The first lawsuit has been filed in the Rust shooting.

The film’s gaffer Serge Svetnoy filed a complaint of “general negligence” against the actor/producer, Alec Baldwin,  armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, assistant director Dave Halls, prop master Sarah Zachry, the production and its financial backers.

Meanwhile, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s department continues its investigation into the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins by Alec Baldwin.

“This incident was caused by the negligent acts and omissions of Defendants, and each of them, as well as their agents, principals, and employers,” the complaint, obtained by Deadline, states.

“Simply put, there was no reason for a live bullet to be placed in that .45 Colt revolver 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.”

It continued: “Defendants, and each of them, among other acts of negligence, failed to implement and maintain industry standards for custody and control over firearms used on the Rust set, allowed real bullets to be present … failed to properly inspect the subject firearm for safety before passing it along the chain of custody to an actor, allowed a firearm to be loaded with or otherwise contain a live bullet, failed to observe basic gun safety practices … allowed a revolver loaded with live ammunition to be pointed at living persons.”

Additionally, the defendants “failed to hire a competent and experienced armorer”  and “failed to hire an adequate support crew for the production’s armorer.”

Gutierrez-Reed, 24, who had been an armorer on just one other film, had two jobs simultaneously on the production and was to earn $7,913.

The lawsuit also claims that the production “failed to implement appropriate safety standards and measures.” It said each defendant “failed to act with reasonable care” and “violated relevant and prevailing industry standards” while making the movie.

Svetnoy, who seeks a jury trial, previously shared the last photo of Hutchins on the set. He wrote on Facebook that they had worked together on several other projects and he was “standing shoulder-to-shoulder” when the gun Baldwin was rehearsing with discharged.

Svetnoy said he was holding Hutchins, a mom of one, “in my arms while she was dying. Her blood was on my hands.”

Yahoo/Hauwa Abu