Alec Baldwin says police should ‘monitor weapons safety’ on all film sets

The actor has said he will cooperate with the investigation

Alec Baldwin has said police should be present whenever a film studio uses guns on set in order to "monitor weapons safety."

The Hollywood actor, 63, accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when a gun he was holding went off during filming for the Western film Rust in New Mexico last month.

He was not aware the gun was loaded after it was declared safe by assistant director David Halls.

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A police investigation is under way into the shooting, which also left Rust director Joel Souza injured.

On Instagram, Baldwin shared a short statement originally posted on his arts foundation’s social media account, which said: “Every film/TV set that uses guns, fake or otherwise, should have a police officer on set, hired by the production, to specifically monitor weapons safety.”

Last week, he shared a post from a crew member of Rust dismissing concerns about safety on the set of the film.

Following the shooting, Santa Fe county sheriff said there had been “some complacency” in how weapons were handled.

Authorities in Santa Fe are probing how a suspected live round came to be in the firearm and haven't ruled out filing charges.

But costume designer Terese Magpale Davis wrote on social media “the story being spun of us being overworked and surrounded by unsafe, chaotic conditions is b******t."

The post, shared by Baldwin on Instagram along with the caption “read this”, defended conditions on set following complaints from crew members.

The production of the film has been suspended. Credit: AP

“These producers who supposedly don’t care about their crew have worked tirelessly alongside us,” the post said.

Mr Halls recently issued a statement saying he hopes the shooting will prompt the film industry to "reevaluate" its safety measures, in his first comments since the incident.

Hollywood stars have reacted with shock to the shooting and have called for more controls for the use of guns on set.

Dwayne Johnson announced last week his production company would no longer use real guns on set.Baldwin is a producer on Rust as well as being the star.

Production on Rust has been halted indefinitely while authorities investigate the shooting.