Kid Dead
Because adults were stupid with guns. Boston Herald:
The federal ATF is expected in Westfield today to aid local police in investigating the accidental death of an 8-year-old boy who was killed yesterday after firing an Uzi submachine gun while attending a gun show.
The boy, identified as Christopher Bizilj, was firing the Uzi when he lost control, forcing it upwards and back, causing him to shoot himself in the head, said Westfield Police Lt. Hipolito Nunez. Bizilj of Ashford, Conn., was under the supervision of a certified instructor at the gun expo at the Westfield Sportman’s Club when he was shot.
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
I like shooting guns, have been doing it off and on since I was 11 or so. I remember the kid next to me at Boy Scout camp, also about 11 years old, turning around with the rifle to ask what to do next. I’ve done stupid things with guns myself.
Letting an 8-year-old fire an Uzi is beyond stupid. It’s criminal. Kids who are 8 don’t have brains or strength. For anyone not familiar with submachine guns, they are different than your average .22 plinker, which is what you get to use when you’re 12. There’s the 600 to 900 rounds per minute thing, coming out of a short weapon. They want to jump. This one was reportedly a Micro Uzi. Even higher rate of fire out of shorter weapon. Here’s the grieving father, via the Globe:
“It was all a blur … I’m still in the grieving process.”
Christopher was accompanied by a trained professional as he held the 9-mm 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.
“This accident was truly a mystery to me,” he said. “This is a horrible event, a horrible travesty, and I really don’t know why it happened. I don’t think it’s relevant that he wasn’t holding the weapon.”
Topics: guns
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 3:55 pm on Monday, October 27, 2008
3 Responses to “Kid Dead”
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October 27th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
That really is beyond stupid. Even an adult using that gun for the first time would have a hard time keeping it under control, let alone an eight year old child.
October 27th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
This may be a reach, but it reminds me of the idea of sending up a school teacher in the Space Shuttle. I am a supporter of gun rights, but guns and Space Shuttles are not toys, and it should not be a goal to make them so.
October 28th, 2008 at 1:16 am
A very sad turn of events, but that kid should not have been firing that sort of weapon. This is indeed criminal.