Boy, 8, fatally shoots self with Uzi at gun show

Boy, 8, fatally shoots self with Uzi at gun show

WESTFIELD, Mass. – 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.

Why is an eight-year-old kid allowed to shoot an automatic weapon?

Guns don't kill people. People kill people

That was a stupid, deadly thing to allow, hope they go after the instructor and dad!

I don't think an 8 year old should be shooting any gun! And I am pro gun ownership. But I don't believe they should be able to sell uzi's.

Quote :

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.

Don't think an Uzi falls in this category!

Children, or any untrained person for that matter, should not play with Uzis. Does this look like a toy?



Uzis fire 600 rounds/minute....that's 10 shots a second!

Good Math There Catbox

gs78 wrote:

Good Math There Catbox

Thanks :haha:

Back to the subject at hand....as I'm not a big fan of guns, I don't see why anyone should have access to a fully automatic weapon. While I think nobody should own a gun, I appreciate that I am a big supporter of the constitution and therefore must allow people to own guns for protection and what not. Still, there is no reason why anyone should own, or even be allowed to own, a fully automatic weapon. If someone breaks into your house a simple handgun will do. If you're hunting (which I'm not a fan of either) you most certainly do not need an automatic weapon to kill the animal - a shotgun will suffice.

The Uzi is designed for combat and that's the only place it should be allowed.

Finally, that eight-year-old child shouldn't have had access to an Uzi...or any gun. If it were up to me you would have to be at least 18 in order to even shoot a gun. If not 18, certainly some age much older than 8.

why would u allow a little kid to shoot a uzi are they fucking stupid.... i hope they get prosecuted

catbox_9 wrote:

gs78 wrote:

Good Math There Catbox

If you're hunting (which I'm not a fan of either) you most certainly do not need an automatic weapon to kill the animal - a shotgun will suffice.

It's illegal to use an automatic gun for hunting.

And on what you said earlier in that same post about owning guns... yah, my family owns a lot of guns. However none of the people in my family are stupid enough to shoot a gun that they are unable to control or allow someone to shoot a gun they know that person will not be able to control. Our guns are almost all for the purpose of hunting.

TG wrote:

catbox_9 wrote:

gs78 wrote:

Good Math There Catbox

If you're hunting (which I'm not a fan of either) you most certainly do not need an automatic weapon to kill the animal - a shotgun will suffice.

It's illegal to use an automatic gun for hunting.

And on what you said earlier in that same post about owning guns... yah, my family owns a lot of guns. However none of the people in my family are stupid enough to shoot a gun that they are unable to control or allow someone to shoot a gun they know that person will not be able to control. Our guns are almost all for the purpose of hunting.

Be kind of cool to hunt Deer with an automatic weapon


Fill Bambi with more holes than swiss cheese

That would be really difficult to clean and all that gross stuff. and it would destroy the meat.
I had venison for dinner tonight

TG wrote:

That would be really difficult to clean and all that gross stuff. and it would destroy the meat.
I had venison for dinner tonight

Yeah


But it would be cool

TG wrote:

I had venison for dinner tonight

I haven't had a piece of meat to eat as the main course in a long time...actually it's been since Sunday - my mom made filet mignon for lunch.

Spoiler:

What is mignon?

TG wrote:

What is mignon?

A very expensive piece of steak.

bobrob2004 wrote:

TG wrote:

What is mignon?

A very expensive piece of steak.

TG wrote:

What is mignon?

Mignon is an opera in three acts by Ambroise Thomas to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's novel Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre. The first performance was at the Opéra Comique, Paris, on 17 November 1866.

--------------------

The steak is called filet mignon, not just mignon.

Oh.... I see

Thanks,

TG wrote:

What is mignon?

It comes bacon wrapped or plain.

wiki wrote:

Filet mignon (French for "dainty fillet") is a steak cut of beef taken from the tenderloin, or psoas major of the steer or heifer.

The tenderloin runs along either side of the spine, and is usually harvested as two long snake-shaped cuts of beef. The tenderloin (not to be confused with the short loin) is sometimes sold whole. If the short end of the tenderloin is cut into portions before cooking, that portion is known as filet mignon, or the fillet, from the French boneless meat (mignon meaning "small" as true mignons are cut from the smaller tail end of the tenderloin).

The fillet is considered to be the most tender cut of beef, and the most expensive. The average steer or heifer provides no more than 4-6 pounds of filet. Because the muscle is non-weight bearing, it receives very little exercise, which makes it tender.

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

TG wrote:

What is mignon?

It comes bacon wrapped or plain.

We had ours bacon-wrapped. I'd have still rather had a burrito or something.

That looks really really good.....

TG wrote:

That looks really really good.....

It sure does.



Better than the last steak I had.

catbox_9 wrote:

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

TG wrote:

What is mignon?

It comes bacon wrapped or plain.

We had ours bacon-wrapped. I'd have still rather had a burrito or something.

Filet Mignon Burrito?

gs78 wrote:

catbox_9 wrote:

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

TG wrote:

What is mignon?

It comes bacon wrapped or plain.

We had ours bacon-wrapped. I'd have still rather had a burrito or something.

Filet Mignon Burrito?

:haha:

I like chicken better than steak

catbox_9 wrote:

gs78 wrote:

catbox_9 wrote:

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

TG wrote:

What is mignon?

It comes bacon wrapped or plain.

We had ours bacon-wrapped. I'd have still rather had a burrito or something.

Filet Mignon Burrito?

:haha:









I like chicken better than steak

Taco Bell has Triple Steak Burritos and Volcano Tacos


They only showed them commercials like 10,000 times during the postseason

I saw that commercial...10,001 times in California though :haha:

Did anyone get their free taco on Tuesday? I did. I also tried a volcano taco.

bobrob2004 wrote:

Did anyone get their free taco on Tuesday? I did. I also tried a volcano taco.

I forgot about the free Taco on the 28th. I got one last year though.

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

bobrob2004 wrote:

Did anyone get their free taco on Tuesday? I did. I also tried a volcano taco.

I forgot about the free Taco on the 28th. I got one last year though.

I forgot to get one

bobrob2004 wrote:

Did anyone get their free taco on Tuesday? I did. I also tried a volcano taco.

I was there on Tuesday, and forgot to get a free taco!