Uzi Death Case in Mass. Court

[Ash]

Not sure if this topic has been brought up before but I thought I'd mention it.
Apparently, the organizers of a machine gun shoot let an eight year old boy fire a micro Uzi and the recoil was so much that the barrel rose up and he shot himself in the head by accident.  It killed him.

Here's the official news link:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/father-christopher-bizilj-died-firing-uzi-urged-son/story?id=12570627

Tragically, the father happened to be recording the incident with his video camera.

As someone who runs a successful Airsoft organization, I am appalled that they would even think about letting such a young boy fire that weapon.  Heck, even a 15 year old kid who was there helping to monitor shooters told the father twice that he didn't recommend that the boy shoot the Uzi and suggested he choose a semi-auto weapon instead.  The father refused and stated that he wanted his son to fire a fully automatic weapon.

This is a classic case of "What the hell were they thinking?!!".

When I host Airsoft events I have strict safety rules that must be followed.  I set the minimum age limit at 12 and even then, the kids must have a parent or guardian present.  The parents or guardian aren't required to play, but they must be on the property at all times for the duration of their son or daughter's stay.
This rule is non-negotiable.
I have this age limit in place and we're using Airsoft guns...not real ones!

Now there is a serious manslaughter case taking place in court over the incident.
While I do agree that this was tragic, it definitely could've been prevented had some common sense be used by the event organizers.  Part of me also wonders what the father was thinking...letting an 8 year old boy shoot such a highly dangerous weapon.

What do you think?
(please don't turn this into a gun control thread)

[akiratubo]

Yes, this was a case of extreme stupidity, for everyone involved.  The father should have known better and the people running the event should have flat out refused to give the kid the weapon.

I've fired a select-fire MP5 and it was a handful on full-auto.  A micro-uzi would be much harder to control.  The kid had no chance.

An easily-avoidable tragedy.

[Umaril The Unfeathered]

Yes, this was a case of extreme stupidity, for everyone involved.  The father should have known better and the people running the event should have flat out refused to give the kid the weapon.

I've fired a select-fire MP5 and it was a handful on full-auto.  A micro-uzi would be much harder to control.  The kid had no chance.

An easily-avoidable tragedy.

Very easily avoidable. This is common sense, as is 99% of firearms safety.

As one who has enjoyed sport shooting most of his life, it's common sense that you DON'T hand a weapon to a kid that age, knowing it's too strong for him. 

My dad got me started on a custom-made 22 when I was 8 (to fit my size at the time) and as I got older I graduated to more suitable calibers.  And safety was the key at all times.

If we did anything wrong: safety off, weapon not open and safe, not stored upright open and safe, or laying down pointed in an unsafe direction, we lost our privileges for a week.

I see this incident not only as avoidable,  but also an insult to all those who safely and resposible use firearms for proper sporting and shooting practices everyday.

[LilCerberus]

Finally saw the video on Inside Edition

I would think a shorter stock & a rifle length muzzle might have helped. I also noticed that the boy had the stock closer to his armpit rather than firmly planted against his shoulder.

But I digress; This was just plain stupid all the way around.

I didn't get my first Daisy until I was ten.

[Allhallowsday]

From the little I've construed, the father is responsible.  I don't like the post-accident video I viewed of that person, but I imagine that the burden of such a loss to be nearly unbearable, so I defer.