8 year old boy accidently killed by an Uzi at a gun show

[Captain America]

Boy, 8, Killed in Gun Show Accident By SUSAN HAIGH, AP Mass. (Oct. 27) - With an instructor watching, an 8-year-old boy at a gun fair aimed an Uzi at a pumpkin and pulled the trigger as his dad reached for a camera.
It was his first time shooting a fully automatic machine gun, and the recoil of the weapon was too much for him. He lost control and fatally shot himself in the head.
Now gun safety experts — and some gun enthusiasts at the club where the shooting happened — are wondering why such a young child was allowed to fire a weapon used in war. Local, state and federal authorities are also investigating whether everyone involved had proper licenses or if anyone committed a criminal act.
"It's easy to lose control of a weapon like that ... they are used on a battleground for a very good reason," said Jerry Belair, a spokesman for Stop Handgun Violence, based in Newton, Mass. "It's to shoot as many times as you possibly can without having to reload at an enemy that's approaching. It's not a toy. It's not something to play with."
Police said Christopher Bizilj (Bah-SEAL) of Ashford, Conn., was pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., on Sunday afternoon, shortly after firing a 9mm micro Uzi submachine gun at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club, co-sponsored by C.O.P. Firearms & Training.
"The weapon was loaded and ready to fire," Westfield police Lt. Hipolito Nunez said. "The 8-year-old victim had the Uzi and as he was firing the weapon, the front end of the weapon went up with the backfire and he ended up receiving a round in his head."
Nunez said the investigation is continuing.
Christopher, a third-grader, was attending the show with his father and sixth-grade brother, Colin. Christopher had fired handguns and rifles before, but Sunday was his first time firing an automatic weapon, said his father, Charles Bizilj.
Bizilj told the Boston Globe he was about 10 feet behind his son and reaching for his camera when the weapon fired. He said his family avoided the larger weapons, but he let his son try the Uzi because it's a small weapon with little recoil.
"This accident was truly a mystery to me," said Bizilj, director of emergency medicine at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford, Conn. "This is a horrible event, a horrible travesty, and I really don't know why it happened."
Police are calling the shooting an accident but are investigating whether everyone connected with the incident had proper weapons permits. Massachusetts requires licenses to own firearms, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives issues different licenses to possess machine guns.
The machine gun shoot drew hundreds of people from as far away as Maine and Virginia. 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.
Massachusetts has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. It is legal in Massachusetts for children to fire a weapon if they have permission from a parent or legal guardian and they are supervised by a properly certified and licensed instructor, Nunez said. The name of the instructor who was with the boy at the time was not released.
"We do not know at this time the full facts of this incident," Nunez said Monday.
Associated Press Writer Pat Eaton-Robb in Ashford, Conn., and Denise Lavoie in Boston contributed to this report.

[Bob Loblaw]

what an absolute tragedy...I cannot believe the thought that firing a weapon on full auto may be a little bit out of an 8-year old's wheelhouse didn't cross anyone's mind there.

[Xiphos]

Dumbasses are gonna ruin it for everyone. What a tragic waste of life.

[Terminator]

An 8 year old has no business firing a fucking deadly weapon. Sounds like his parents are dumb shits.

[Captain America]

Stupid , tragic , waste , pick one or all.

[Xiphos]

I have no problem teaching young kids how to shoot and gun safety but you need to use an age appropriate platform. I've fired fully auto weapons including an Uzi and that is waaaay too much for a child. This was just foolish and dangerous.

[CTR man]

The parents, instructors, company, promoters, and anyone else involved with the sale or promotion of that range, all need to have their heads examined for being stupid idiots for letting that 8 yr old kid anywhere near that weapon. Up to and including having their credentials pulled. What were they thinking.

[Pinki]

That's very tragic

[Ryan]

I was taught to shoot around age 7 and hunted deer with my dad all my life. I was never just handed a gun, my dad always held it too until I passed a hunter safety course. It isn't the guns that are dangerous, nor the responsible owner, it is 100% the persons fault who mishandles the weapon. The dad and the person running the booth should both be help responsible. Everyone else has the right to assume no one would allow a 8 year old to fire that weapon.

On another note, what gun show can you fire full auto weapons at? I am not even allowed to carry concealed to the ones here

[Rabbit23]

I've fired fully auto weapons including an Uzi and that is waaaay too much for a child.

I agree. It was probably the hardest Uzi to control too, especially for a kid, it was a Micro.

I have a full auto M11 with a Lage Max-11 upper on it which slows the rate of fire, but in it's stock setup it is pretty damn hard to control and can dump 32 rounds in less than 2 seconds.

No way should this kid have been given a full mag the first time too. I've let my fiance's cousins (12-14 years old) shoot my full auto, but they were given 2 rounds, then 3, then more as they learned how the gun would react and recoil.

[Wolven]

How sad.

Someone was seriously suffering from HUA that day...maybe more than one...parents, guy who handed it to him etc, etc, etc. Damn shame.

[10-42Adam]

I personally think 8 years old is too young to be firing a gun, especially one of that nature. What a tragedy...

[armsmaster270]

I have no problem teaching young kids how to shoot and gun safety but you need to use an age appropriate platform. I've fired fully auto weapons including an Uzi and that is waaaay too much for a child. This was just foolish and dangerous.

I agree the young can be taught but use sense in doing it. I started about 6 with a Smith & Wesson K-22 Masterpiece in 1 year I was hip shooting with my father.

[jmur5074]

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.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081204/...shoots_himself

[Captain America]

Somebody needed to be charged with something in this tragic mess. Thanks for the update jmur5074.

[Rhino]

Saying that boy was killed by an Uzi is like saying hammers build houses. It's the truth, but not the whole truth.

The boy killed himself. It's sad and tragic, and maybe putting it that way seems cold. But it's the truth. And he should have been a more trained and experienced shooter before firing such a weapon, and it's parent's job to have made sure that was the case.

[MacLean]

I personally think 8 years old is too young to be firing a gun, especially one of that nature. What a tragedy...

I started at 7 under close supervision.

This was not properly supervised.

It has nothing to do with the weapon.