Two Oregon City men were killed in an explosion inside a World War II-era tank destroyer Tuesday at a public shooting range east of Bend, according to Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson.

One of the men, Steven Preston, 51, was a prominent member of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association, a national group for restoring and collecting historic military ground transport, according to an association representative.

Austin Lee, 22, was also killed in the explosion, Nelson wrote in a Wednesday morning news release. A film crew present during the explosion was filming the tank destroyer firing rounds “as part of a display of the tank destroyer at a future exhibit,” Nelson wrote.

Preston, who was the chairman of the MVPA’s annual convention, died shortly after the explosion , according to Tracey Metcalf, the association’s administrator. Metcalf said she was not sure what caused the vehicle demonstration to go awry.

“He was a very good man,” Metcalf said of Preston, who had recently gained notoriety for his 1944 M-18 Hellcat. “And he will be missed by everyone who knew him.”

The explosion occurred on land leased to the Central Oregon Shooting Sports Assocation by the Bureau of Land Management, according to Mark Fero, the vice president of the association.

Fero said his group was not notified ahead of time of any exercises involving a tank Tuesday, out of line with typical protocol.

The sheriff’s office continues to investigate the explosion with the assistance of the Oregon State Police Arson and Explosives Section, along with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Autopsies will be performed later this week by the state medical examiner, Nelson said.

The Bulletin will continue to provide updates as they become available.