Wreckless endangerment...

[Tant01]

Eight-year-old shoots self with Uzi, dies - CNN.com

WESTFIELD, Massachusetts (AP) -- An 8-year-old boy died after accidentally shooting himself in the head while firing an Uzi submachine gun under adult supervision at a gun fair.

The boy lost control of the weapon while firing it Sunday at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club, Police Lt. Lawrence Valliere said.

The boy was with a certified instructor and "was shooting the weapon down range when the force of the weapon made it travel up and back toward his head, where he suffered the injury," a police statement said. Police called it a "self-inflicted accidental shooting."

The victim was taken to Baystate Medical Center where he died. His name was not released.

Although the death appears to be an accident, police and the Hampden district attorney's office were investigating, officials said.

The club said on its Web site that the event, run in conjunction with C.O.P. Firearms and Training, is "all legal and fun." People will be allowed to fire weapons at vehicles, pumpkins and other targets, it said.

Officials with the private club and the firearms group could not be reached for comment....



Who the hell puts a MACHINE GUN into the hands of a little kid?

[Mattyj]

Eight-year-old shoots self with Uzi, dies - CNN.com


Who the hell puts a MACHINE GUN into the hands of a little kid?

That's INSANE! Some people's ignorance is downright frightening.

[kingoftheforest]

I don't think there is anything you can say that would drive the point home to more than the guy seeing his dead kid.



Hopefully this is a lesson people can learn from.

[Tant01]

I'm not saying it's unsafe or dangerous to teach a youngster to shoot. The kid was 8 years old... It was a MACHINE GUN! C'mon?

"Supervision" doesn't mean JUST watching him do it!

That's like letting a monkey drive a truck! Sure they can do it for a little while.

More ammo for "anti" ...

[darrianation]

This is a shame! My heart goes out to the little boy's family. And what was the adult supervisor doing?

[Tant01]

It's tragic! Breaks my heart. The article doesn't imply endangerment or negligence.

I do...

[kingoftheforest]

...most third world countries?
It's like the slogan for the AK-47;
"So simple a child can use it...and they do!"

Yeah but these kids get training....they watched their older siblings shoot the ak first.

That's why they hope for little brothers. That way when lil' bro gets old enough you get a new AK.

[TTEscrima]

ANYONE who has ever actually fired an Uzi knows how bad Uzi's walk (that's climb for those who don't know). Even when adults fire them, they wind up walking until the barrel is pointed at the sky.

It especially an unsafe weapon for a kid to fire because the grip safety is so temperamental. There's a reason for the old joke that the easiest way to clear a room, is to just chamber a round, and toss the Uzi into a room, the Uzi will do the rest.

I suspect someone wanted to get rid of their kid, because an 8 year shooting himself in the head while firing an Uzi on full auto isn't an accident, it's inevitable.

That's like letting a monkey drive a truck! Sure they can do it for a little while.

ROFLMAO somehow that also fits our leaders. (I think the monkey would've done a better job).

[FLMKane]

A machine gun!? Kill the superviser! Death penalty!

[TTEscrima]

Gun club, police chief indicted in boy's Uzi death

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Three men, including a small-town police chief, were indicted Thursday on involuntary manslaughter counts in the gun-fair death of an 8-year-old who accidentally shot himself in the head with an Uzi that a prosecutor said he never should have been allowed to handle.

The club where the fair was held also was charged. The fair had promised shooters would have certified instructors in an advertisement, but District Attorney William Bennett said the child, Christopher Bizilj, was supervised by an uncertified 15-year-old boy.

Christopher, of Ashford, Conn., lost control of the 9mm micro submachine gun as it recoiled while he was firing at a pumpkin Oct. 26 at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club in western Massachusetts.

Pelham Police Chief Edward Fleury was charged because he owns the sponsor of the gun fair, COP Firearms & Training. Two men who brought the automatic weapon to the show, Carl Guiffre of Hartford, Conn., and Domenico Spano, of New Milford, Conn., also were indicted.

An involuntary manslaughter conviction carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence, but the term could be five years or less for someone with no prior convictions.

Fleury and the club also were indicted on four counts each of furnishing a machine gun to a minor. A conviction on each count is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, up to $10,000 in fines and the loss of a firearms license for at least 10 years.

Bennett said prosecutors know of at least four children, including Christopher, who fired automatic weapons at the fair. He added that Fleury had wrongly assured Guiffre and Spano that it was legal for children to use the Uzi under Massachusetts law.

"A Micro Uzi is made by and for the Israeli Armed Forces and is intended to meet the operational needs of Israeli Special Forces," Bennett said, noting the weapon has a rate of fire of 1,700 rounds per minute. "It is not a hunting weapon."

Thomas Drechsler, an attorney for the club, said it continues to extend its "deepest sympathy" to the Bizilj family, but denies any wrongdoing. He said neither the club nor any member gave the Uzi to Christopher or any children, and weren't in the immediate area when the accident happened.

"The club is disappointed by the indictment," he said. "The club's intention is to plead not guilty and the club denies they participated in any criminal act."

Fleury, Guiffre and Spano did not immediately return calls for comment.

The machine gun shoot drew hundreds of people to the sporting club's 375-acre compound. An advertisement said it would include machine gun demonstrations and rentals and free handgun lessons.

"It's all legal & fun — No permits or licenses required!!!!" reads the ad, posted on the club's Web site.

"You will be accompanied to the firing line with a Certified Instructor to guide you. But You Are In Control — "FULL AUTO ROCK & ROLL," the ad said.

The ad also said children under 16 would be admitted free, and both adults and children were offered free .22-caliber pistol and rifle shooting.

Christopher's father was 10 feet behind him and reaching for his camera when the child fired the weapon.

Bennett said Charles Bizilj (pronounced bah-SEAL') had selected the compact weapon for his 4-foot-3, 66-pound son to fire after he was assured it was safe. He had thought the Uzi's small size made it safer, but the opposite was true, the prosecutor said.

"Although it might appear a heavier or longer weapon would be more dangerous, the small size of the weapon together with the rapid rate of fire made it more likely that an 8-year-old would lose control and the muzzle of the weapon would come close to his face, which is what happened here," he said.

The father was not charged because he was a layman and based his decision on information from others who should have known it was too dangerous, Bennett said. The 15-year-old boy who was supervising Christopher with the Uzi also will not be charged, he added.

Christopher's family did not immediately return a call seeking comment. His father has said his son had experience firing handguns and rifles but the gun show was his first time with an automatic weapon.

Fleury, the police chief, has been on sick leave since the boy's death, according to Kim Leahey, administrative aide for the Pelham Board of Selectmen. Leahey said the board would have no statement on the indictment until it consults its attorneys.

Fleury is one of two full time officers in Pelham. In a statement issued shortly after the accident, the board said Fleury's company was a "purely personal pursuit" and not subject to their approval.

Gun club, police chief indicted in boy's Uzi death - Yahoo! News

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WOW this story is worse than I thought, it seems the Police were in this up to their necks, and people wonder why I scoffed at the idea that these were the places to teach school teachers to use weapons in a classroom setting.

[Uke]

You know that sad part of all this?

The father probably just wanted to show off that his kid could handle the uzi. Maybe the kid had done it before with no incident. Still, it was completely reckless.

[TTEscrima]

You know that sad part of all this?

The father probably just wanted to show off that his kid could handle the uzi. Maybe the kid had done it before with no incident. Still, it was completely reckless.

I'd say ego was definitely part of the equation, but c'mon the kid weighed 66 pounds and they gave him THE HARDEST TO CONTROL FULL AUTO EVER MADE to fire? Stupidity and a lack of training of everyone present also played a huge part.

[Uke]

I'd say ego was definitely part of the equation, but c'mon the kid weighed 66 pounds and they gave him THE HARDEST TO CONTROL FULL AUTO EVER MADE to fire? Stupidity and a lack of training of everyone present also played a huge part.

I can't see a way anyone could argue against what you're saying.

The only reason I feel sympathy is because some people feel that any violence is too much to expose children to. And we all know that we've taught our children how to defend themselves, which involves a certain level of violence that society wouldn't deem "appropriate".

So while the man was wrong and completely negligent, I on some level can relate to what he thought he was going to accomplish.

Truthfully, had everything turned out fine, would we still be looking at this situation the same? Someone would probably have put the YouTube clip of the kid shooting on the site and commented on how young they start them off at.

I'm not defending this guy at all. I can't even fathom if it happened to my own or even someone else's that I knew. I'm just saying that it was a bad judgement call. People teach their kids how to shoot all the time. That kid may have fired off that uzi a dozen times before and the man had faith in the kids ability to do so because of previous success. Could it be possible that the kid wanted to show off and use one hand like "Ahhhnold" in the movies? Could it be possible that the accident had less to do with the kid's ability to control the weapon and more to do with a freak accident ... like a bee flying near his face while he was shooting and he panicked?

There's nothing that can make this seem right. I'm just having a hard time believing that someone grown and in the position of law enforcement would be so stupid and remiss.

Then again ...