‘Rust’ Armorer Sues Ammo Supplier Over Live Rounds That Killed Cinematographer Halnya Hutchins

deadline.com:

The police investigation into what really went down on the set of Rust in October 2021 when Alec Baldwin shot and killed cinematographer Halnya Hutchins is still ongoing, but today the armorer in the spotlight of the troubled indie Western has launched her own legal action against the man she says supplied the fatal ammunition.“Defendants distributed and sold prop ammunition which presented as unreasonable risk of injury, without warning of the risks that could have been avoided had the risks been disclosed,” says Hannah Gutierrez Reed in a complaint filed today in New Mexico court against Rust armorer/mentor Seth Kenney and his Albuquerque-based PDQ Arm and Prop.

company. “Defendants prepared dummy ammunition cartridge boxes from surplus ammunition stockpiles that comprised of both dummy and live ammunition,” the explosive 22-page suit from lawyers Jason Bowles and Todd J.

Bullion adds.“These false representations caused live rounds to be introduced on set, resulting in a foreseeably catastrophic outcome, and causing damages to persons on the Rust set,” the civil complaint alleges. “The introduction of live rounds onto the set, which no one anticipated, combined with the rushed and chaotic atmosphere, created a perfect storm for a safety incident.”Detailing how apparent negligence by Kenney supposedly mixed up the live and dummy rounds on the already gun discharged plagued film, Wednesday’s suit implicitly carries forward the sabotage theory that Gutierrez Reed’s attorneys have been pushing for months.

The complaint also seeks to reinforce the tale that the armorer’s industry vet father Thell Reed has been espousing since late November last year.On November 30, 2021, a New Mexico judge granted the Santa Fe Sheriff’s