Nine year old accidentally kills gun instructor with Uzi

[Fragile Bird]

That thread title was written to be straightforward and non-biased, just a simple statement of fact, so no one can accuse me of sensationalizing what happened.

Personally? I would charge parents who brought a nine year old to the shooting range to shoot an Uzi automatic (basically a _{machine gun, right?) with child abuse. But then my cultural norms are obviously very different from the norms of people raised in a gun culture. The instructor paid with his life, more fool him for not holding the gun with her when he turned on the automatic feature, so doing anything further would be useless.}

_{ETA: It was careless of me not to add 'sub' in front of machine gun, the article clearly calls it a submachine gun.}

_{But come on, guys. No wonder the USA doesn't believe in the concept of 'child soldiers' (they're all killers, right?). I don't mean to sound ....hell, I'm not sure what I sound like, but the stupidity of what happened on this gun range leaves me breathless. And the idea that parents in parts of America are bringing sub-teens to the gun range to shoot automatic weapons leaves me just unbelieving.}

_{Do they bring nine year olds to driving school as well? And no, I don't mean golf.}

_{The story:}

_{A gun instructor in Arizona has been accidentally shot and killed by a nine-year-old girl that he was teaching to fire an automatic Uzi submachine gun.}

_{Charles Vacca, 39, was killed on Monday after being shot in the head at an outdoor shooting range in White Hills.}

_{The accident happened when the girl, who authorities said had been taken to the range by her parents, pulled the trigger and the recoil sent the gun over her head.}

_{Mr Vacca was stood next to the child, who had fired the weapon a number of times in the “single-shot” mode, authorities said, but when it was switched into “fully-automatic” the weapon recoiled as the girl fired the trigger.}

_{Mr Vacca died shortly after being airlifted to University Medical Centre in Las Vegas, Mohave County sheriff’s office said.}

<sub>Ronald Scott, a firearms safety expert, said most shooting ranges have an age limit and strict safety rules when teaching children to shoot. He said instructors usually have their hands on guns when children are firing high-powered weapons.

"You can't give a 9-year-old an Uzi and expect her to control it," he said.</sub>

_{The girl has not been named, and it is not known if the Last Stop range had an age limit or if the girl was going through a safety class.}

_{Mohave County Sherrif's official's released a video, reportedly shot by the child's parents, showing the moments leading up to Mr Vacca's death.}

_{The story includes the video. I haven't looked at it yet, I haven't had breakfast.}

_Opinions?

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

FB,

Technically it is a "sub-machinegun" because it fires pistol rounds not rifle rounds like a machine gun. Giving that weapon to a 9 year old set to fire on full automatic is incredibly reckless.

[Crixus]

WTF.

How can a 9 year old be present at a shooting range, much less handle a weapon? Much less, an Uzi and that too on automatic? I'm just.. yeah, no words.

[baxus]

"9 year old child" and "uzi" should not get in any contact whatsoever!

I don't care what amendments say, or what the law is - kids and guns don't mix.

These parents are definitely unfit to raise a child.

[sologdin]

(technically a submachine gun, no?)

are there cases in canada upholding firearms use as child abuse or delinquency &c.?

[Galactus]

I thought automatic weapons were illegal in the US? (IE: They have to have the automatic firing function disabled) Or is that only for automatic rifles and not SMG's?

[KiDisaster]

I thought automatic weapons were illegal in the US? (IE: They have to have the automatic firing function disabled) Or is that only for automatic rifles and not SMG's?

Pretty sure you can own automatic weapons with the right permits, but those permits aren't easy (or inexpensive) to acquire. Lots of gun ranges offer automatic weapons that you can pay to shoot down range.

I've fired an automatic rifle once. I'm a full grown adult, and it nearly knocked me on my ass. I'd be too scared to even attempt to fire an automatic weapon without a shoulder stock or a front grip, let alone hand something like that to a child...

I just feel bad for this little girl more than anyone, she has to live with this for the rest of her life and it wasn't her fault. I feel bad for the guy's family too. Such an easily preventable tragedy.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

Galactus,

I believe it is possible to get a liscence to own an automatic weapon. It's simply expensive and difficult. Allowing your 9 year old to fire the weapon on full automatic is insanely unsafe.

The first time I ever discharged a firearm I was 12. It was a .22 cal. target pistol. It still had some kick.

[MercenaryChef]

At a place called burgers and bullets no less.

This is the sort of thing that makes me cringe as an American.

[Paladin of Ice]

Of course not, letting a 9 year old operate a device whose purpose is transportation would be incredibly unsafe and ill considered. We all know they have to grow up until they have something close to an adult sensibility, and then be gradually trained to acquire the skills necessary to drive responsibly, often while being instructed by people whose job it is to teach them how to do so safely.

With operating a device whose sole purpose is to kill things by shooting hot death out of one end on what may be an unexpected trajectory, they have to learn about it as soon as possible. Furthermore, the skills to do so can be taught by any Responsible Gun Owner. Just ignore how often Responsible Gun Owners accidentally shoot themselves, family members coming home at unexpected times, or accidentally discharge bullets while cleaning their guns.

Do they bring nine year olds to driving school as well? And no, I don't mean golf.

[Theda Baratheon]

Fucking unbelievably bloody stupid. Shitting hell. Who in the bloody hell brings a freakin' 9 year old to a shooting range? Stupid, stupid, stupid. Ugh. Disgusting.

[sologdin]

scot--

the oddity is that, had it been a proper machine gun, there'd be no way that she could hold it, and, locked in its mounting, would not have recoiled into instructor's face.

[DanteGabriel]

At a place called burgers and bullets no less.

This is the sort of thing that makes me cringe as an American.

Yup, this. Stupid motherfuckers to bring their kid to a firing range to fire a fucking Uzi.

There is a place in the barbaric firearms-fetishizing culture rampant throughout the US for teaching kids how to use weapons. Putting an Uzi in the hands of a 9 year old does not fit into any sane definition of child firearms training.

I also have to say though -- the instructor should have refused to let the kid use that gun.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

Sologdin,

scot--

the oddity is that, had it been a proper machine gun, there'd be no way that she could hold it, and, locked in its mounting, would not have recoiled into instructor's face.

That's true. Letting a 9 year old fire an Uzi, much less set to fire on automatic, is just reckless beyond belief.

[3CityApache]

Jesus. My older daughter is turning nine in January next year. I would never even think about taking her to a shooting range, much less about handing her any kind of weapon. What the hell is the purpose of that with a kid that age? What's wrong with these people? Total and utter madness.

[Stannis Eats No Peaches]

What the fuck? :tantrum:

[OnionAhaiReborn]

Gun nuts block any meaningful gun control in this country, outrageous gun death rate be damned, so that they can keep their toys. Quite in keeping with that childish mentality that they'd give their toys to their children to play with, too. I'm reminded that Adam Lanza lived in a household where guns were treated as amusement and hobby, and was taken to shooting ranges as a child. One dead instructor here, twenty dead children there, fine, just don't dare take their toys away.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

The thing that blows my mind is that it was the instructer who put the then fully automatic weapon in her hands. What the hell could he have been thinking?

[sologdin]

yeah, instead of child abuse by parents, one might consider malpractice by instructor.

[TerraPrime]

This sort of thing is bound to happen regardless of the gun laws. Some people will be stupid and/or will use poor judgment whether we ban or restrict one type of gun or another. If there were no submachine guns, that same instructor would have died from another accident in mishandling a different piece of firearm.

It's too bad that the instructor's stupidity has to come at the cost of a 9 year-old's mental trauma. I wouldn't blame the parents, per se, if the guy who died was billed as an instructor. The parents brought the girl to the shooting range with a, I presume, licensed instructor (which actually will make great political fodder for the Liberterians' case that licensing doesn't mean shit, as an aside).

And to be fair, he did put a pair of ear muffs on her so he's not totally winging it.