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11th Nov 2021

Alec Baldwin sued over shooting on Rust set

Sarah McKenna Barry

The film’s head of lighting is suing for emotional distress.

Actor Alec Baldwin is among the individuals who are being sued over the shooting that occurred on the set of the film Rust, the BBC reports.

The film’s head of lighting, Serge Svetnoy alleges that he suffered “severe emotional distress” after a bullet missed him and fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The film’s director, Joel Souza, was wounded after being shot in the shoulder.

Mr Svetnoy filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court which names almost 12 defendants including Baldwin, who serves as a producer of the film. The film’s assistant director, David Halls, who handed him the gun is being sued, as is Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who oversaw the weapons on the film’s set.

The lawsuit reads: “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.”

It goes on to say: “What happened next will haunt the plaintiff forever. He felt a strange and terrifying whoosh of what felt like pressurised air from his right. He felt what he believed was gunpowder and other residual materials directly strike the right side of his face.”

Mr Svetnoy is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.

In a statement shared yesterday, Ms Gutierrez Reed’s lawyer said that they are “convinced [the incident] was sabotage”, and that their client is “being framed”.

They added that they believe the scene had been “tampered with” prior to the arrival of police.

On 30 October, Baldwin said: “[Halyna] was my friend. The day I arrived in Santa Fe and started shooting I took her to dinner with Joel.

“We were a very, very well-oiled crew shooting a film together and then this horrible event happened.”