'Rust' Ranch Owners Try To Dismiss Lawsuit Filed By Medic Who Treated Halyna Hutchins

“Rust” producers are trying to dismiss the on-set medic’s lawsuit against them. The medic, Shannon Hughes, whose last name is actually DeLap, is a contractor for the Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico, where “Rust” was being filmed.

On October 21, 2021, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed when a gun held by actor Alec Baldwin went off during a scene that they were rehearsing. Director Joel Souza was hospitalized as a result of the incident.

According to the court documents, Hughes was eating lunch with her coworkers when they heard the gunshot. She asked them if a rehearsal was happening at that time and quickly ran towards the church. She said she heard “frantic calls for a medic” on her radio as she ran. When she entered the church, she saw that Halyna Hutchins and Joel Souza had been severely wounded.

Hughes provided emergency treatment to Hutchins until first responders arrived. The medic contends that the events caused her “tremendous shock, trauma, and severe emotional distress” that have left her unable to work. She is suing the Bonanza Creek Ranch for negligence, saying that the injuries that Hutchins and Souza sustained caused her emotional distress.

However, the ranch owners are trying to get the case dismissed, asserting that her claims are based on bystander laws. It is worth noting that Hughes was not injured in the shooting and did not witness it, as she stated in her petition.

Her claim against first assistant director David Halls was dropped based on the grounds that she did not witness the incident, and the "Rust" ranch owners are hoping for a similar result.

In January 2023, “Rust” prosecutors filed criminal charges against the 65-year-old actor and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. In April, the charges against the “30 Rock” actor were dropped pending further investigation. However, they were dismissed without prejudice, meaning that charges could be refiled at any time.

Meanwhile, the rookie armorer faced an additional count of tampering with evidence in June after a witness came forward to allege that she transferred cocaine to another individual on the day of the “Rust” shooting, thus tampering with the police investigation. She has pled not guilty and her trial is set for February 2024.

In early June, special prosecutors stated in a legal filing that they would make the decision on whether or not to charge Baldwin again within sixty days. However, it was not until October that sources familiar with the investigation told NBC News that New Mexico prosecutors intend to recharge Alec Baldwin.

If they renew the charges of involuntary manslaughter, that is slated as a fourth-degree felony in New Mexico, which carries a maximum sentence of 18 months in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.

Luke Nikas, an attorney for Baldwin, said in a statement, “It is unfortunate that a terrible tragedy has been turned into this misguided prosecution. We will answer any charges in court.” Although Baldwin has continuously denied pulling the trigger, FBI testing maintained that the trigger had to be pulled in order for the gun to fire.

Potentially as a result of the “Rust” shooting, the “Supercell” actor is looking to retire from acting and indicated that he would love to star in a reality series featuring his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, and all of their children. The 65-year-old actor has seven children with his wife Hilaria as well as a daughter, Ireland Baldwin, from his marriage to ex-wife Kim Basinger.

The “30 Rock” actor told Kelly Ripa on SiriusXM’s Let’s Talk Off Camera that he would love to eventually retire and be the star of his own reality show, similar to what the Kardashians and the Osbournes have done.

The actor revealed that he is “desperate to try to work from New York” in order to spend more time with his family, explaining that it is difficult to travel with his large family. The couple, who tied the knot in 2012, shares children Carmen, 10, Rafael, eight, Leonardo, six, Romeo, five, Eduardo and Lucia, both two, and one-year-old Ilaria.

“I’ve been working less and less and less and I’m home and my wife and we wanna travel the world with the kids,” he said. “I mean, I wanna show seven kids Rome and London and Paris and Madrid and blah, blah, blah. And we’re thinking about that now, where we have a different life in terms of work. I really do think about, you know, I’ve kinda had enough, I mean, I’ve done this for a long time and I wanna have a private life.”