Boy handed uzi, shoots and kills self.

[Saya]

An event at a Westfield gun club turned tragic today when an 8-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in the head and later died at a Springfield hospital, Westfield Police said.

The child's death -- caused by a fully automatic Uzi machine gun -- appears to have been an accident; but it remains under investigation, police said.

The Westfield Police Department released a statement about what they described as a self-inflicted, accidental shooting, which occurred at 2 p.m. at the Westfield Sportsman's Club on Furrowtown Road.

In a telephone interview tonight, Westfield Police Officer Carl Girard confirmed the boy died of his injuries -- a wound to the right side of the head -- at Baystate Medical Center. Police did not release the child's name, nor did they say where he lived. The Springfield Republican reported that the child was not from Westfield.

"Witnesses state that he 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," the police statement read.

The boy’s father was at the event and accompanied him to the hospital, police said.

The sportsman’s club was hosting its annual “Great New England Pumpkin Shoot” during the weekend, police said. Officials from the club could not be reached.

The event was organized by C.O.P. Firearms & Training, an Amherst company which, according to its website, organizes machine gun shoots throughout New England. Officials from that group also could not be reached.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/bre...ies_in_sh.html

Not trying to start another firearms debate, personally getting sick of arguing about it, but I think we can all agree: Children and uzis don't mix. Why the hell would you hand one to your eight year old child?

[Albert Mond]

Originally Posted by Saya

http://www.boston.com/news/local/bre...ies_in_sh.html

Not trying to start another firearms debate, personally getting sick of arguing about it, but I think we can all agree: Children and uzis don't mix. Why the hell would you hand one to your eight year old child?

Well, if you're a moron, it's a no-brainer. Whoever gave him an automatic machine gun was a moron. In fact, he probably shouldn't have even been at the event.

[Drake Dun]

Yep. I think being a moron would just about do the trick.

[Steppenwolf]

Originally Posted by Albert Mond

Well, if you're a moron, it's a no-brainer. Whoever gave him an automatic machine gun was a moron. In fact, he probably shouldn't have even been at the event.

I Agree , the kid should NOt have been there . The parents are guilty for his death and they should be in jail .

[jack_the_knife]

This is one of many reasons I don't like guns very much, things happen extremely quickly.
But I agree with Albert Mond on this rare occasion.

[Tam Li Hua]

Originally Posted by Saya

Why the hell would you hand [an uzi] to your eight year old child?

This is my question as well. I can understand the value of teaching a child how to handle a smaller, more managable firearm, but an uzi..? Sheesh!!

[Joker_in_the_Pack]

See, there's my firearms problem. It's not the guns, it's the idiots who own them.

[Renatus]

Everyone who knows anything about Uzis knows they have a big issue with recoil, even adults have problems handling Uzis so how stupid do you have to be to hand a kid an Uzi?

[Tam Li Hua]

Pretty darn stupid, I would say.

[CptSternn]

This was on the news and there are a few other articles on it. A few of the members, the ones running the thing and who witnessed this, were all police officers.

[LaBelleDameSansMerci]

>.< I think there are some people who need to be maced. And not with the spray stuff.

[Corpsey]

I doubt we would know the full picture of what went on there. It could have just been an accident where he tried to fire it by himself with his father present but not paying attention. Either way, I know the father didn't exactly want what happened so he's probably too busy grieving to let him mace you.

This is a very sad story, not something for everyone to get all up-in-arms angry about unless you know exactly what happened.

[Albert Mond]

Originally Posted by Corpsey

I doubt we would know the full picture of what went on there. It could have just been an accident where he tried to fire it by himself with his father present but not paying attention. Either way, I know the father didn't exactly want what happened so he's probably too busy grieving to let him mace you.

This is a very sad story, not something for everyone to get all up-in-arms angry about unless you know exactly what happened.

I hear there were idiots involved.

[LaBelleDameSansMerci]

Originally Posted by Corpsey

I doubt we would know the full picture of what went on there. It could have just been an accident where he tried to fire it by himself with his father present but not paying attention. Either way, I know the father didn't exactly want what happened so he's probably too busy grieving to let him mace you.

This is a very sad story, not something for everyone to get all up-in-arms angry about unless you know exactly what happened.

I'm not necessarily blaming the parents, but there HAD to have been someone doing something dumb, and when 8-year-olds and machine guns are within easy access of each other, constant vigilance is a necessity.

Letting your 8-year-old touch a machine gun does not fall into the category of common sense.

[Jonathan]

Regardless of age, a weapon should not be handed to anyone that is not prepared to operate it in a responsible manner. Nor should anything that could cause serious injury or death. This goes for anything from a car, to a piece of industrial equipment, to firearms, and so forth.

Sucks that this happened to the kid, but it was a stupid mistake. Sometimes you get lucky when you make stupid mistakes, sometimes you don't.

[ThreeEyesOni]

Originally Posted by Corpsey

I doubt we would know the full picture of what went on there. It could have just been an accident where he tried to fire it by himself with his father present but not paying attention. Either way, I know the father didn't exactly want what happened so he's probably too busy grieving to let him mace you.

This is a very sad story, not something for everyone to get all up-in-arms angry about unless you know exactly what happened.

I read a bunch on this story when it first broke a while back. The kid was given the gun, tried to fire it on full-auto, and the kickback knocked it right up vertical. This is a gun that most grown adults have a hard time dealing with even if they know how much kick it has (Uzi would be something in the range of 45cal to 9mm; I can't honestly remember what the specific round is, but those have a good kick even in semi-auto), and a small child has pretty much no hope of holding it on target.

It's really a wonder that the kid didn't spin the gun around. If he had, or if he had tried to toss it away, he might have lived. Of course then there would have been many, many other people hit.

I don't really know what is to be done about the parents. What they did is perfectly legal I do believe; children are allowed to fire guns and even hunt with parental permission. What the actually staff did here was HORRIBLY illiegal and probably violated every legal guideline they have. When it comes down to legal responsibility and blame, that is where it should land here.

[viscus]

Since when were fully-automatic SMG's legal to own again?

[HellforgedX]

Originally Posted by Jonathan

Regardless of age, a weapon should not be handed to anyone that is not prepared to operate it in a responsible manner.

Not to mention physically capable of handling the weapon. Uzis kick after every bullet, and they kick a lot. Most 8-year-olds I know don't have the physical strength to hold an Uzi still.

[ThreeEyesOni]

Originally Posted by viscus

Since when were fully-automatic SMG's legal to own again?

They always have been with the proper permit. Some states are more restrictive than others, but this really isn't anything new. The chances are that the people running this exhibit have permits out the ass.

Most of which should probably now be revoked.

[CptSternn]

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

http://tinyurl.com/5f3zew

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 and $1,000 fine. 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 that the weapon has a rate of fire of 20 to 25 rounds per second. "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.

[Pineapple_Juice]

One must be terribly stupid to hand a child a weapon. Stupid enough to deserve something like this happening to them. I only wish the child had ended up shooting the parent and taking him down instead.

[Sanguine Mind]

It's sad that the parents were so irresponisible, the worst part is that the kid was the one who paid for it.

[DRM]

That's terrible, why would you do something that dumb.
Thisis why I think that children shouldn't even be taught to shoot a gun, it only leads to trouble.

[Albert Mond]

Originally Posted by DRM

That's terrible, why would you do something that dumb.
Thisis why I think that children shouldn't even be taught to shoot a gun, it only leads to trouble.

..Aaaaaand seat wetting.

[Pineapple_Juice]

Originally Posted by Albert Mond

..Aaaaaand seat wetting.

I totally refrained from saying that out of sheer willpower only to find that someone else did it for me. Hurray for you.