8-Year old boy accidentally shoots self in head with Uzi at gun show

[Ian_rd]

Boy, 8, shot to death in Mass. gun show accident

WESTFIELD, Mass. (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."

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Yes. They put a fucking Uzi into the hands of an eight year-old.

[progressoid]

Speechless.

[youthere]

1. Another tradgedy brought to you by the NRA.

[benEzra]

21. Hardly. The NRA supported the *1934* law that restricts these.

This was a Federally restricted NFA Title 2/Class III machinegun, not a civilian firearm.

[gatorboy]

2. No age limit to shoot by the way:

http://www.copfirearms.com/ShootingEventsMainPage.htm

[YOY]

3. That's 50% Darwinism, 50% Piss poor parenting and 100% tragedy

but what part of RESPONSIBLE GUN OWNERSHIP do these jackasses not understand?

I'm for the 2nd amendment just anti-idiots-who-thinks-it's-a-toy.

[Ian_rd]

12. I'm also a firm believer in the right to own guns.

Uzis, however, I'm not so sure. But as far as Darwinism, I usually only consider it such when the victim does it to themselves. Since this kid was eight, I'm considering 100% "piss poor parenting."

I know shit happens, and I know that just because shit happens to kids doesn't always mean it's the parent's fault. But to actually put a loaded weapon - an UZI at that - into a kid's hands and say, "Pull the trigger, Johnny! Be a man!" That's fucking negligent homicide. What stupid, stupid assholes. Fuck that pisses me off.

[YOY]

13. It's the definition of Darwinism. Killing one's own progeny is in there.

as is removal of one's ability to sexually reproduce.

I didn't make it up nor am I making light of the tragedy.

One of the best lessons my father ever gave me was "THAT IS NOT A TOY." One of the best lessons life ever taught me was the death of a friend who's brother thought of guns as toys. Nasty story. Serious irresponsibility involved.

[klyon]

38. they are just lucky his finger didn't locked on the trigger as he fell,

shooting other people around him. Eight year olds are not strong enough to control a weapon like this. It could have been a lot worse.

[whistler162]

41. No... 100% the "certified" instructors fault and 100% the parents fault.

Both should have known better than to allow that young a child to use that much of a weapon.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. Would someone please explain why these weapons are even legal?

And just how stupid do you have to be to put one that is loaded into an 8 year old's hands?

[YOY]

8. 2nd Amendment. Very stupid.

n/t

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

36. Uzis. UZIS! For fucks sake. -nt

[YOY]

37. Still the second amendment.

Sorry. Granted the document wasn't written at the time of automatic firearms.

I think it says more about "gun culture" than it does about "gun ownership".

There are some real idiots who think that firearms are toys and fail to respect them. This family paid the ultimate price for their ignorance.

It's just sad all over.

[slackmaster]

19. They are legal because the National Firearms Act is a tax law

When it was debated in Congress, in 1934, the idea of banning machineguns was abandoned because it would have violated the Second Amendment. So instead of an outright ban, the result was a $200 transfer tax and federal background check. The $200 was a lot of money at the time.

The NFA registry for privately owned machineguns was closed in 1986, so the number of machineguns in private hands will never increase.

[Aristus]

5. Yet he was surrounded by "law-abiding gun owners" and "certified gun-safety experts."

Un-fucking-believable.

Reaction from the NRA: "Yep. 'At's too bad. But that Uzi that done him in was beauty, waddn't it?"

[Fumesucker]

6. Guns don't kill people..

People kill people..

Well, most of the time anyway.

It appears that the weapon may have been fired in the fully automatic mode, judging by the description of the accident.

[fishbulb703]

7. Wow. An eight-year old? Thats a little young for a semiautomatic.

And because the barrel is so short it makes it more likely the point of aim will move to where it shouldn't be, like the kid's own head.

Awful, awful parenting decision.

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. Fully automatic, I'd think, if he 'lost control'

Boston Globe describes it as "a fully automatic Uzi machine gun"

[Fumesucker]

14. More likely fully automatic

Judging by the way the story is worded..

It's called "muzzle climb" and is a problem with fully automatic weapons..

Especially in the hands of someone not strong enough to control the muzzle climb.. Like an eight year old.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muzzle_climb

[Zuiderelle]

15. My brother had one of those when he was about 10. I'm lucky to be alive, and so is he.

[benEzra]

23. NOT a semiautomatic. It was a NFA Title 2/Class III Micro Uzi, full-auto.

And much harder to control than an Uzi, as the Micro is much smaller and lighter.

[fishbulb703]

43. Link? Specs weren't in either stories I read.

If that was the case, though, then that is even more irresponsible. Eight year-olds handling automatic weapons seems like reckless endangerment.

[benEzra]

45. From the Boston Globe:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/10/police_identify_6.html?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed6

Christopher was accompanied by a trained professional as he held the 9mm Micro Uzi machine gun at the Westfield Sportsman's Club Sunday afternoon, but Bizilj said he doesn’t think the shooting guide was holding the weapon as his son pressed the trigger.

Looks like it may have been negligence on the "guide's" part. Most machinegun "experience shoots" involve either tripod-mounted guns or long guns, or at the smallest a full-size MP5 or Uzi. This was a Micro Uzi, a VERY small submachinegun that is hard for an adult to control in a long burst, and was an extremely poor choice for an inexperience shooter of any size but particularly a child. Second, given the foregoing, the guide's hands should have been FIRMLY ON THE GUN. And I'd also consider putting only a few rounds in the magazine if it were iffy (so that the gun would not have time to rotate back before running dry).

Machinegun shoots of this nature do have a very, very good safety record (this is AFAIK the first fatal child machinegun accident in the last 75 years). But there was a LOT of negligence in this case.

[marmar]

9. Not to start a gun rights pissing contest, but who needs an Uzi? ......

There is no good reason for this weapon to be legal.....

[slackmaster]

17. Very few Uzis are owned by private individuals

There are not very many transferrable ones in the country. Because of their scarcity, they are very expensive for a private collector to acquire.

I've never heard of an accident involving one before.

[Zuiderelle]

24. My brother received his as a present from my grandfather who fought in WWI and WWII.

And he probably lets his own son shoot it now. At the very least we should make it illegal for children to use such guns, even if they are allowed to be collected and used by adults.

[benEzra]

20. It's already as tightly controlled as a 105mm howitzers or shoulder-fired rocket launcher

i.e. possession outside of police/military/government duty is a 10-year Federal felony without Federal authorization.

[Recursion]

27. Almost nobody has one -- and the AWB does nothing about uzi's

Actual automatic weapons are very, very rare in this country, very expensive, and very difficult to get.

[gollygee]

10. Another thread on this

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4317231

[Marrah_G]

16. WTF is wrong with his parents??????

AN UZI???????????????????????????????????

[Captiosus]

18. This is why I would LEAVE the indoor range I'm a member with

I've seen this kind of behavior up close and personal at the indoor range which I have been a member for the last 14 years. Some adults are responsible, but most of them treat it like a big game: "I'm teachin' Johnny how ta shoot!"

After seeing one incident where a parent let a child no older than 10 fire a Desert Eagle .50AE, and watching the kid fly back into the wall from the recoil, still holding the live weapon, while the dad guffawed, I decided that it would be far better (and safer) to cut my time at the range short and leave any time someone brings a child in under the age of 16.

[ProfessorGAC]

22. Seems A Wise Choice

I'm not a shooter, but if i were, i'd think i'd do as you did. Seems the smart decision.
The Professor

[Ganja Ninja]

28. What's wrong with starting them off on a BB gun and moving up ...

when the kid's a little older? An 8 year old kid is barely able to handle an open soda let alone an UZI. And a Desert Eagle is a 2 handed weapon for an adult.

Some of these people are just too stupid to own a gun.

[YOY]

33. That's the point I make constantly.

Sure there is nothing wrong with owning a firearm...but the NRA needs to actively DEPROMOTE yahoos that act like their f***ing Yosemite Sam and that irresponsibility is the norm.

Of course their manufacturers would sell less weopons if the idiots understood they weren't toys.

[pacalo]

25. Unbelievable. Here's more from the Boston Herald...

The annual machine gun show is advertised as a free-for-all for gun enthusiasts, and has created discord among some club members, said longtime club member Bob Greenleaf.

“To let an 8-year-old boy fire an Uzi is the height of stupidity,” said Greenleaf.

Greenleaf, a member of the club for 44 years, was so opposed to the annual machine gun shoot that he resigned from the club’s board of directors four years ago.

An ad for the show posted on the Sportman’s Club Web site boasts: “No age limit or licenses required to shoot machine guns, handguns, rifles or shotguns!!!"

“You will be accompanied to the firing line with a certified instructor to guide you, But You Are In Control - Full Auto Rock And Roll.”

Full Story

[SidDithers]

39. Will the "certified instructor" be facing criminal charges?...

Manslaughter? Negligent homicide?

This was not an "accident". This was negligence, pure and simple.

Sid

[pacalo]

46. A lot of negligence to go around, including the parent who thought Uzi-Land was child appropriate.

[Deep13]

26. So, he gave a little kid a submachine gun. What could possibly go wrong?

Oh yeah, that's what did go wrong. :(

[NNN0LHI]

29. Where are the goofs who say the same thing would have happened with a knife ... or a baseball bat?

:hide:

[benEzra]

31. In the past 50 years, this has happened, what, once?

When was the last time a child was killed in a machinegun accident in the United States? As compared to, yes, baseball accidents?

I think in the threads on this topic, those who wish to make political cheap shots out of the tragic death of a little boy---a death which had NOTHING to do with NFA Title 1 civilian guns or gun laws, since this was a Federally restricted machinegun---are the real "goofs" on this one. Just saying.

[Solon]

40. First, that we know about, and second, this has more to do with adult neglect than anything else...

frankly the father and any adults around should be brought up on charges of child endangerment and possibly manslaughter. The fact that they failed to follow proper safety procedures with any firearm the child was handling shows negligence on their part.

[ArmedAmerican]

30. as irresponsible as giving car keys to an 8 year old, but irrelevant to 2nd amendment

There will always be tragic tales spawned by irresponsible behavior. Don't blame the tool, blame the adult.

[4lbs]

42. There are laws AGAINST allowing children under 15 to drive, but none to prevent kids under 15 from

shooting a gun.

[benEzra]

44. No, it is not illegal for a child under 15 to drive on private property.

You only have to be licensed to operate a car on public roads, just as you have to be licensed to carry a gun in public. On your own property, or on someone else's property with permission of the owner, it is entirely legal. (And is, FWIW, how I first learned to drive.)

[snake in the grass]

32. I bet mom and dad are really...

...proud of their 2nd amendment stance and their refusal to accept responsible gun ownership as a legitimate parameter. Poor kid to have such fuckwad parents. No doubt he is now in a better place, and be it simply the grave.

[paparush]

34. Eight Year Old and UZI should never appear in the same sentence together.

The parents let this kid shoot this gun by himself? Unsupported from behind? Holy fucking shit! What was the Certified instructor doing, standing beside the kid?

And just WHY THE FUCK is a fully automatic weapon on display at a gun show?

[Maine-ah]

35. I support responsible gun ownership for law abiding citizens

putting an uzi in an 8 year old's hands is not responsible. Hell putting any gun in the hands of an 8 year old is not responsible. You'd think that one would have to be 18 at these shows in order to even handle any gun. WTF were they thinking?