...allows their 8-year old son to play with an Uzi? And he's an emergency room doctor yet.  Whadda jerk!!! Watch him being interviewed in the wake of the "accident."

Susan

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

OK, what the fuck? The description of how it happened doesn't sound right to me...he pulled the trigger, the muzzle raised up, and the bullet struck him in the head? I call BS. No gun has that kind of kickback, nor would it raise up quickly enough to fire the bullet into your head. No, it sounds to me like someone wasn't supervising him enough and the kid was holding the gun stupidly and shot himself in the face. Which is why you don't let 8-year-olds shoot guns, I don't give a shit how many adults are in the room.

Idiots. I hope this hangs over all of their heads for a good long time.

And is it just me or does the father seem a little too...um...calm and detached? I realize everyone deals with grief in their own way, but...he's just a little too Stepford Wife to be normal.

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

As a gun owner, I would normally chime in right about here.

But I'm about through trying to discuss things on discussion boards, so I'll direct that energy elsewhere.

I'm OK with letting someone be a smart, responsible gun owner. I know that many gun owners are. It's just idiots like the ones in this situation that kind of ruin the whole gun thing for everyone else. Bad apples, you know? I still maintain that an 8yr old shouldn't be allowed to use a gun. Yes, I know, you can teach anyone responsible gun handling, and there are plenty of children out there who are very responsible gun users. But for pete's sake, children are spazzes, even at the ripe old age of 8. Most kids that age can't even keep their bedrooms clean. If they can't handle the responsibility of making their bed every morning, why the hell would we want to give them control of firearms?

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

Clinton's Brady Ban attempted to put a ban on scary looking guns.  Nothing about one gun or another makes it any more or less safe, they are all designed for the same purpose. This could have happened with a cute little Colt revolver.   The model of gun is beside the point, so let's get over that.

This is the range's fault, too.   The officer says the instructor handed the child the gun.  (OSF, we don't even know if it was the dad's gun, but I'm glad you think the US Secret Service are idiots. That's a gun that they use.)

 But "under 16 in free?" I have never been to a range where shooters weren't required to hand over a state issued photo ID when they walk in the door for liability reasons.  This sounds suspicious.  I mean, Jesus, would you give a kid under 16 the keys to your car????  Eight??! I couldn't tie my shoes when I was eight!

The only reason a parent would bring their child to an instructional firing range would be to show him how to operate a weapon safely.  Same reason you teach your kids how to drive. 

But that starts at home, and you don't let anyone near anything loaded until they have the developed brain capacity to understand why NOT TO POINT THE DAMN THING at anything you don't plan on killing, and to KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER til your target is engaged.  I know adults who still can't figure that out that I refuse to shoot with.

Yeah, dumb move on dad's part.   Thanks for giving the anti- 2nd Amendment fascists fodder for their cause.

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

Yes they have a semi version (or setting ? )as i was told by a friend.

 , but my friend a dual citizen of Columbia and the US, a Marine Embassy guard at the time, had the fully automatic uzi. Kept it in his trunk under lock and we warmed it up one time. He and some Girines went with him to the Muzo mine in a lawless area and scored me beauty native cut emeralds for .07 cent on the dollar. That fully auto feature is de riguer in parts of Columbia, e.g. the emerald mines.

 Tragic, stupid firearm accidents are sad, so are what, 40,000 U S auto crash deaths each year.

Close range in the face, the first bullet is going to do the trick.  

I always think of the Darwin Awards when I hear about things like this happening. 

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.

An 8-year-old shot and killed himself with an Uzi submachine gun like the weapon shown here.

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. A message left on a club answering machine was not returned. The C.O.P. group's machine clicked off without taking a message.

The sportsman's club was founded in 1949 and describes itself on its Web site as an organization that promotes "the interest of legal sport with rod, gun, and bow and arrow, both directly and through training."

It has eight firing ranges as well as archery and fishing facilities located on 375 acres in Westfield, about 100 miles west of Boston.

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Still, it's not the gun's fault. It's poor training.

Look at the photo and see how the rifle must be shouldered to shoot (forward) correctly. If his body couldn't brace the recoil, and his finger was on the trigger (as it had to be to shoot himself), even with the stock fully collapsed, the rifle would either go down at an angle or up in the air -- Which still means bullets bouncing off things could strike the shooter or bystanders, but nevertheless...

Pretty difficult for a small person to shoot himself in the head with something that large from recoil alone. This is actually a safety feature of the big scary Clinton ban guns. I'm 4'10" and I would have to be holding it upright at my chest, pointed toward my head, and squeezing the trigger. You CAN release the trigger when there's recoil. Might as well have been a handgun. Someone is trying to cover their ass.

Quote:

He said the bullet struck the boy's lower jaw. He did not see the shooting but said he watched as the boy was taken away. "He was crying, he was still awake.

 The Micro-Uzi, a smaller version of the original weapon, weighs 4.5 pounds and can fire 20 rounds per second. An Uzi has more recoil than a handgun but less than an assault rifle such as an M-16. Recoil -- the backward motion of a weapon after it's fired -- is greater for guns that fire rapidly and use larger caliber shells.

_________

I'm confused.  Was the boy killed by a bullet or by the gun's kickback?

x-ray
if your back's against the wall, turn around and write on it...

Here are a judge's answers to the moron query:

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

In this photo taken Oct. 29, 2005, Dominic Spano, front, of New Milford, Con...

3 hours ago
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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.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

I don't disagree with any of that.

Free speech is a privilege that comes with responsibility, too, and, like arms, can be negligently and maliciously abused by morons and sociopaths. It's good, I guess, that we have laws to punish those people when it happens, instead of punishing everyone preemptively.