Alec Baldwin sued by family of woman killed on set

The family of a cinematographer who was shot and killed on the set of the film "Rust'' is suing Alec Baldwin along with the movie's producers for wrongful death, their attorneys said on Tuesday.

Halyna Hutchins was killed in October when a gun Baldwin was pointing in her direction went off in his hand. Director Joel Souza was wounded in the incident.

'Reckless behavior and cost cutting' to blame

During a briefing, attorney Brian Panish said that "reckless behavior and cost cutting, led to the senseless and tragic death of Halyna Hutchins."

The family's legal team alleges that Baldwin had opted out of training for the gun draw he was performing when Hutchins was shot.

Baldwin claims he pointed the weapon at the instruction of Hutchins and that he did not pull the trigger.

Lawyers for the family also said that a real firearm was not required for the setup scene, and that according to industry standards, a prop, or rubber firearm should have been used.

State investigation ongoing

Since the incident, safety protocols on the set of the production have been brought into question.

The films armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed,  who was responsible for firearms, ammunition and training on the film set, and Baldwin have both said they had "no idea" why live bullets were present on set when there weren't supposed to be any.

In January, Gutierrez Reed sued the prop supplier, claiming that live ammunition had been provided to the film crew instead of only dummy rounds. Dummy ammunition has no gunpowder and is inert.

A state investigation into the shooting is ongoing, with New Mexico officials yet to file any criminal charges.

Investigators have said that weapons were handled on set with "some complacency."

kb/wmr (AP, Reuters)