Rust movie location manager on prop gun shooting involving Alec Baldwin: 'Tragic, huge mistake'

The location manager on Alec Baldwin's upcoming film has spoken about the prop gun shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on set last week.

Stacey Mickey-Evans, a crew member working on Rust, spoke to 92.5 Triple M Gold Coast hosts Bridge, Spida & Flan about the events leading to Thursday's tragic incident.

"It's still hard to talk about. There are massive protocols to stop these things from happening, there are multiple checks," Mickey-Evans said.

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"This was obviously a real weapon, and this particular weapon was supposed to be loaded with blanks and that is what everyone thought, and it was checked and double checked, and triple checked… supposedly.

"That obviously didn't happen and somewhere along the lines it fell through the cracks. When we're talking about something that is a deadly weapon, it's a huge mistake and tragic."

Mickey-Evans revealed the conditions on the movie had been so poor, crew members almost went on strike two weeks prior to the shooting because they felt the working environment was unsafe.

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"The strike was averted, and a small deal was made, but I think now with this particular instance with weapons on set… I mean we have CGI, we have green screen, we can do all of these things these days," the location manager added.

READ MORE: Tributes flow for Halyna Hutchins after cinematographer killed by prop gun

"Why do we actually have to have a weapon that is loaded on set with all of these people around? It is unnecessary, it is dangerous."

The prop gun that Baldwin accidentally fired during a camera test, having been handed to him by an assistant director who told him it was safe to use, killed Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza.

No charges has been made yet and the investigation remains ongoing.