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The medic who attended to members of the cast and crew accidentally shot during the filming of the Alec Baldwin film "Rust" filed a negligence suit against multiple crew members, the ranch itself, the film's production company and filming location on Feb. 4.
On Oct. 21, 2021, a revolver used as a prop gun for the film was accidentally discharged by Baldwin during a rehearsal at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Bonanza Creek, New Mexico, according to media reports and the complaint.
Cherlyn Schaefer entered the church where the film was rehearsing after receiving calls for a medic over the radio, the complaint said. After entering the church, Schaefer attended to the gunshot wounds of both Halyna Hutchins and director Joel Souza. Hutchins, the cinematographer for the production, died from her injuries.
In the complaint, Schaefer said she has suffered "severe emotional distress" affecting all aspects of her life and leaving her unable to return to her profession. The complaint included 10 counts against the film product company and several production members, including the set's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed; its property master, Sarah Zachry; the assistant director, David Halls; and the armorer mentor, Seth Kenney.
Kenney owns and operates PDQ Arm & Prop LLC, also a named defendant in the suit, which supplied the guns and ammunition on the film set. According to the complaint, Kenney supplied the dummy and live rounds used on the "Rust" set.
The complaint also named the ranch as a defendant in the suit. Baldwin, meanwhile, was only named in the complaint as a "nonparty." Defendant Shannon Hughes was the site representative of Bonanza Creek Ranch and was present during the filming of the movie, according to the complaint.
The complaint alleged the defendants breached their duties of care with the negligent use of a deadly weapon and discharge of the live round. The suit alleged Halls did not check the gun for live ammunition before handing it to Baldwin.
Additionally, the suit said both Halls and Gutierrez Reed told others on set it was a "cold gun," meaning it did not contain live rounds and is empty or containing "dummy rounds." Gutierrez Reed was "supposed to be present at the site when guns were to be used," but according to the complaint she was not present at the rehearsal when Halls handed Baldwin the revolver.
With the Feb. 14 complaint, Schaefer joined other members of the suspended film's production team alleging physical and emotional damages.
The film's gaffer or chief lighting technician, Serge Svetnoy, filed a suit in Los Angeles Superior County Court on Nov. 9, 2021, and alleges that the actions of Gutierrez Reed, Halls, Baldwin and Rust Movie Productions caused him to suffer physical and emotional damages.
Mamie Mitchell, the film's script supervisor, filed a complaint for damages in Los Angeles Superior County Court on Nov. 13, 2021. Mitchell alleged in her complaint that she stood just four feet from Baldwin before he fired the shot that killed Hutchins. She claimed to have suffered emotional and physical distress from the incident.
Gutierrez Reed filed a complaint against Kenney and PDQ Arm & Prop LLC in New Mexico's 2nd Judicial District Court in Albuquerque. The complaint alleged that Kenney and his company violated the Trade Practice Act, created dangerous conditions and brought unsafe ammunition on set.
Attorneys Julia McFall and Justin Duke Rodriguez, Atkinson, Baker & Rodriguez in Albuquerque, and Michael Jasso, of The Jasso Law Firm, represented Schaefer and could not be reached for comment.