Alec Baldwin hasn’t accepted blame for the accidental shooting death of Halyna Hutchins since it happened. Now a lawyer for the Hutchins family says the actor absolutely doesn’t feel responsible for his actions even as the cinematographer’s loved ones have filed a lawsuit against him.
Attorney Brian Panish appeared on the “Dan Abrams Live” to talk about how Baldwin is in “complete denial” and refuses to accept “any responsibility” for the death of Hutchins on the set of “Rust,” Fox News reported.
The cinematographer was accidentally killed when a firearm Baldwin was holding discharged on set. The weapon had a real bullet when it was supposed to have a blank in it. The incident occurred on October 21 and Hutchins’ family just filed a lawsuit which laid partial blame on the actor.
“He’s not accepting any responsibility,” Panish said, also claiming that Baldwin, “refused any gun safety training, number one.”
“Number two, he pointed a gun at someone on a set,” the lawyer continued. “You don’t do that without plexiglass and other precautions. Number three, why were there bullets in the gun to begin with whether they were fake or real? It was only a lineup. There was no intention for him to shoot the weapon. He wasn’t supposed to shoot the weapon. Nobody expected him to do that, yet he recklessly fired the weapon while pointing it at three people, killed one and injured another.”
The Hutchins family is suing Baldwin for punitive damages plus funeral and burial expenses. There are several other pending lawsuits as well, and investigations are ongoing. Lighting technician Serge Svetnoy, the film’s script supervisor Mamie Mitchell, and on-set armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed also have lawsuits pending.
Meanwhile, the criminal investigation is still taking place. The actor posted a video in January saying he was fully cooperating with the investigation into the shooting, which ran contrary to rumors that Baldwin was refusing to turn over his cell phone to authorities. They have taken possession of the phone as of now.
Panish said it will depend on the prosecuting attorney to charge Baldwin with a crime depending on what the evidence reveals. But either way, the attorney believes Baldwin is “in complete denial, accepting no responsibility, and we look forward to letting the folks, the community, in Santa Fe County determine his responsibility.”
Meanwhile, Baldwin’s lawyers have a different perspective.
“Everyone’s hearts and thoughts remain with Halyna’s family as they continue to process this unspeakable tragedy,” Baldwin’s attorney Aaron Dyer said in a statement. “We continue to cooperate with the authorities to determine how live ammunition arrived on the ‘Rust’ set in the first place. Any claim that Alec was reckless is entirely false.”
“He, Halyna and the rest of the crew relied on the statement by the two professionals responsible for checking the gun that it was a ‘cold gun’ — meaning there is no possibility of a discharge, blank or otherwise,” the statement continued.
“This protocol has worked on thousands of films, with millions of discharges, as there has never before been an incident on a set where an actual bullet harmed anyone. Actors should be able to rely on armorers and prop department professionals, as well as assistant directors, rather than deciding on their own when a gun is safe to use.”
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