NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – The first lawsuit was filed Wednesday regarding the fatal shooting on the set of “Rust” in New Mexico, in what could be the first in a long series. Serge Svetnoy was right next to cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and said he held her while she was dying. He says he is filing a complaint so that an incident like this will never happen again on a film set.

“He held her in his arms, blood on his hands as she lay dying on the set, waiting for help,” said Gary Dordick, an attorney representing Svetnoy. “Serge Svetnoy knows better than anyone that this senseless tragedy could and should have been avoided. “

This is one of the last memories Svetnoy had of his friend Hutchins before his death on the set of “Rust” in Santa Fe last month. Svetnoy, the film’s chief lighting designer, says he was so close that one of the bullet fragments hit him in the face. The two had worked on nine films together over the past few years.

“I still can’t believe she’s not with us anymore,” Svetnoy said at a press conference. Now he’s suing the production company and a number of people involved in the production, including gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed who was in charge of the guns on set, and producer and actor Alec Baldwin, who fired the shot. who killed Hutchins.

“These mega-millionaire producers and production companies must put the safety of people before profits,” Dordick said. “This lawsuit aims to put an end now to these kinds of dangerous conditions that have happened too often on film sets.”

Dordick says Baldwin’s actions that day were reckless regardless of who was responsible for the weapons of the set. However, he says it wasn’t the first problem Svetnoy saw on set.

“Alec Baldwin was sued for punitive damages because when a gun, a real gun was handed to him on the set, he assumed it was safe. He picked up a gun, loaded with a bullet, pointed it at human beings and pulled the trigger and shot the bullet which killed people and seriously injured others. This conduct is reckless, ”said Dordick. “He didn’t see any recreational shooting firsthand, but he saw firsthand guns left lying around, unattended, in the dirt and left unattended.”

Just days after filming, Baldwin congratulated the film crew. “We were a very well oiled crew making a movie together and this horrible event happened,” Baldwin told reporters.

Although the lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles, where many defendants live, lawyers say they could seek jurisdiction here in New Mexico. A dollar amount was not entered in the lawsuit and lawyers say it’s not about money – it’s about pressuring producers to prioritize the profit security.

“I haven’t blamed and still don’t blame a person,” Svetnoy said. “Mostly, no one.”

On Wednesday evening, Albuquerque-based attorney Jason Bowles, representing the ensemble’s gunsmith, Gutierrez-Reed, released a statement, reiterating on Wednesday their claim that the shooting was sabotage and that Gutierrez-Reed is in the process of to be trapped. Additionally, Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies spoke to Good Morning America, saying there was no evidence of sabotage. KRQE News 13 has contacted its office for comment but has not received a response.

“Yesterday we met with the Santa Fe County Deputy Sheriffs and Hannah continued to cooperate and provided a full interview. Information is disseminated and must be the subject of a thorough investigation and examination by the public prosecutor. We also look forward to the FBI investigation and call for a full and complete investigation of all facts, including the live rounds themselves, how they ended up in the “dummy” box and who put them. in there. We are convinced that it was sabotage and that Hannah is the victim of a set-up. We believe the scene was also tampered with before the police arrived. The truth-finding process requires the district attorney and the FBI to review all evidence, including the nature of these live rounds. This morning, we offered to share additional critical information with the Sheriff’s Office and are awaiting their response on information sharing.

Jason Bowles, lawyer for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed