Boy 8 shoots himself in Mass

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Received this from a friend up north just minutes ago. Not good for the boy his familyand definitely not good forpro gun people.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-10-27-boy-death-gun-show_N.htm


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."


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 website that the event, run in conjunction with C.O.P Firearms and Training, is "all legal and fun." People were 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 website as an organization that promotes "the interest of legal sport with rod, gun, and bow and arrow, both directly and through training."

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Very tragic indeed. Help me out over here on the Topix forum. I have a bunch of anti-gunners over here beating up on me.

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/hampton-roads-daily-press/T4BPHRRAILIFFOJ2M

My point was that a child could be taught to properly fire a weapon such as this but the parent was entirely negligent in this case. The antis are telling me that there is no use for such weapons, etc.

gaw

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Very sad.

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HardChrome wrote:

Very tragic indeed. Help me out over here on the Topix forum. I have a bunch of anti-gunners over here beating up on me.

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/hampton-roads-daily-press/T4BPHRRAILIFFOJ2M

My point was that a child could be taught to properly fire a weapon such as this but the parent was entirely negligent in this case. The antis are telling me that there is no use for such weapons, etc.

gaw

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Why should a child be taught how to shoot something like this? You're right about the negligence part, but for the wrong reasons.

Talk about Negligent Discharge! The boy's father had no damn business letting him shoot this weapon! I think the sponsoring organization should be taken to task as well!

Learning to shoot a (single shot) .22 is to riding a bicycle sans training wheels as shooting an uzi is to riding a motorcycle!

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Boy, 8, Killed in Gun Show Accident


WESTFIELD, Mass. (Oct. 27) - 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, Christopher Bizilj of Ashford, Conn., 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.
Christopher died at Baystate Medical Center.
Police said the boy's father was at the gun fair and accompanied his son in the ambulance, but it wasn't clear if he was at the firing range with Christopher at the time of the accident. Police didn't give the father's name.
Although police called it a "self-inflicted accidental shooting," police and the Hampden district attorney's office were investigating, officials said.
"We are going to review all the circumstance regarding what happened, who was involved, what authorities they may or may not have had, who was supervising," District Attorney William Bennett said Monday.


It is legal for children to fire a weapon if they have permission from a parent or legal guardian and are supervised by a properly certified and licensed instructor, Lt. Hipolito Nunez said.
Those conditions were met in this case, he said. He declined to release the supervisor's name.
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 are allowed to fire weapons at vehicles, pumpkins and other targets, it said.
Officials of the private club and the firearms group could not be reached for comment. There was no response to a message left on a club answering machine. 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 promoting "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.

Very very sad. My condolences to the family and all involved........

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http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20081027/Boy.Shoots.Himself/

Also another campus shooting: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE49Q0X220081027?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

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2a4all wrote:

Why should a child be taught how to shoot something like this? You're right about the negligence part, but for the wrong reasons.

Talk about Negligent Discharge! The boy's father had no damn business letting him shoot this weapon! I think the sponsoring organization should be taken to task as well!

Learning to shoot a (single shot) .22 is to riding a bicycle sans training wheels as shooting an uzi is to riding a motorcycle!

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I agree with you 110%. Thanks to this moron of a parent the antis have another thing they can use against us.

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We had a discussion here on the OC forums somewhere not long ago about young children handling and firing weapons. I said at that time.... well, nevermind! The below is extremely sad. While not related to "open carry", I think it's importat for everybody to see what can happen.

Please be careful out there with the young 'uns and firearms. It only takes a split second!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27399337/

Mon., Oct. 27, 2008

WESTFIELD, Mass. - 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 Vallierpratte said.

Police said the boy, Christopher Bizilj of Ashford, Conn., was with a certified instructor and called the death a “self-inflicted accidental shooting.”

“The weapon was loaded and ready to fire,” 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.”

Christopher died at Baystate Medical Center.

The boy’s father and older brother were also there at the time, a gun club member and school official said. Francis Mitchell, a longtime member and trustee of the club, said he was told the boy’s father was supporting his son from behind when the shooting happened.

“My reaction is shock,” said Mitchell, who lives down the street from the club. “In the last five years, there has never been a problem or a bad accident. I’ve been sick all night.”

The father, Charles Bizilj, is the medical director of emergency medicine at Johnson Memorial Hospital, in Stafford Springs, Conn.

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

It is legal for children to fire a weapon if they have permission from a parent or legal guardian and are supervised by a properly certified and licensed instructor, Lt. Hipolito Nunez said.

Those conditions were met in this case, he said. He declined to release the instructor’s name.

The event, run in conjunction with C.O.P Firearms and Training, said in an ad that people are allowed to fire weapons at vehicles, pumpkins and other targets at the event.

The club said it would offer 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.

Officials with the firearms group could not be reached for comment. Messages left on answering machines for the club and the C.O.P. group were not returned Monday.

The sportsman’s club was founded in 1949 and describes itself on its Web site as promoting “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.

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Very tragic.

I supports parents properly introducing their children to firearms, but in moderation.Learning isabout baby steps. That kid should have been firing a .22lr.

The scary part is that this is a common occurrence. Of the gun shows that I've attended, at least 3 instances, I've seen young (10 years old or less) shooting fully automatic guns. They handled them well enough, and the event was safe, but this may be an example for a need for some sort of regulation tohinder a potential future negligent situation.

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How responsible is a 'certified instructor'?

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While this is a tragic story, not all of the blame lies on the parent here. The instructor is also at fault as well - if I were in the instructor's place, I would not allow such a young boy to fire such a firearm without having direct control over it (ie, my hands on it and keeping it controlled).

When I was about that age, my father taught me how to shoot his FEG 9mm. He never let me hold it on my own - he was always supporting me.

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There are some that proclaim that 2A gives everyone even 8 year-olds the right to walk down the street with an UZI slung on their shoulder. Some proclaim that it is their right only if their parents permit it. I don't know if being 8 had anything to do with this but it is sad. Watch some people trying to ride a motorcycle sometimes. The open the throttle and even while running into something they can't seem to realize that they need to release it. Maybe it was the same with this boy that when he pulled the trigger he couldn't figure out that he needed to release it.

I can't put an age limit on it because everyone is different. If this boy had not been killed but someone had filmed it and put it on youtube, we would all be talking about how amazing the kid was being able to handle an UZI at his age. The difference between a great stunt and a tradgedy is the outcome.

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Tragic.

Yet one more reason that "shall not infringe" doesn't apply to children and doesn't mean that all parents are responsible.

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PT111 wrote:

If this boy had not been killed but someone had filmed it and put it on youtube, we would all be talking about how amazing the kid was being able to handle an UZI at his age.

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I wouldn't be praising such a video or actor. This is actually what the discussion was about here on the OC forums earlier, a young child and her impressive shooting abilities. I disagreed then because of her age, and I continue to disagree now.

But the point of the thread is .... everybody, please be careful out there with your children, no matter what age they are.

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I thought of that same thread when I first heard about this. There are several more on youtube very similar and it gets to be a contest to who can put the youngest one on there. Wonder if this accident was being filmed?

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PT111 wrote:

Wonder if this accident was being filmed?

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Even if it was, somebody would whine to YouTube and have it yanked off faster than you could search for it (as in Terms of Service violations).And I think this would be a responsible decision on YouTube's behalf, nobody really needs to see a video like this. The aftermath of a very brutal murder-suicide still haunts me to this day, and we weren't even there when it took place of course.

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Walleye wrote:

While this is a tragic story, not all of the blame lies on the parent here.

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True. The parents will probably suethe instructor (and win) for facilitating their stupidity.

God Bless America!

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No law was broken and he was under the direct supervision of an NRA instructor......An accident, no more. The leftist media will run with it for obvious reasons.

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Paul Volk wrote:

Very tragic.

I supports parents properly introducing their children to firearms, but in moderation.Learning isabout baby steps. That kid should have been firing a .22lr.

The scary part is that this is a common occurrence. Of the gun shows that I've attended, at least 3 instances, I've seen young (10 years old or less) shooting fully automatic guns. They handled them well enough, and the event was safe, but this may be an example for a need for some sort of regulation tohinder a potential future negligent situation.

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Do you really think you can regulate stupid?

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For kids under 10 or 12 or so, full auto or even full power semi auto might be a bit much. This is the perfect example of why group events need to have overly cautious rules.