I was signing on to my homepage today and this headline caught my eye.
Having 3 boys myself, this really hit home. I seriously can't even imagine what I would do if this happened to my child or even if I was at this place when it happened to someone else! What a freak accident, you know?
I don't like guns myself and they actually freak me out, but my husband has them (locked up & way out of reach of children, don't worry!) and has even expressed interest in taking my boys to shows like this.... Wow... I'm still in shock.
Boy, 8, killed in Mass. gun show accident
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.
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, Charles Bizilj, attended the event with his son. The father is the medical director of emergency medicine at Johnson Memorial Hospital, in Stafford Springs, Conn.
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 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 private club and 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.
How do YOU feel about guns? Would you ever let your child shoot a gun like this?
~ Faith
recommend this
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 43
We have a load of guns, Chandler even has a couple of his own! BUT, he's supervised closely when he has his and can only shoot it when WE say he can! c And he's ALWAYS with an adult!
This story is about as tragic as they came, and like most, it could have easily been avoided.
That being said, I am going to be buying another gun soon. I think they're good for self-protection, if you're properly taught to use them. My 5 year old and 7 year old go to the gun range with their father all the time. If an accident out there occurred, I certainly wouldn't blame him or the people supervising, as long as things were done properly.
And even with supervision, proper training, and all that- accidents happen, yes they're tragic. I'm sure the boy's father feels absolutely horrible, but the article doesn't mention how much training He OR his son had with guns- for all we know, they made it a practice to go to the gun range all the time. He probably felt confident in allowing his son to handle the weapon with people supervising.
I feel so sorry for that child, his parents too. Something had to have went bad wrong, his father should have been right beside him. If he had, he would have been harmed too.
Automatics are legal if you have a special and fairly expensive permit from the Feds. in limited numbers, though I think each state may be different.
My heart goes out to the family.
there are some weapons that are only meant for the military and an uzi is one of them...
there are some guns not meant to be allowed in the publics hand let a lone a childs..
I've known how to shoot a rifle since before I was about 5 or 6 years old. My husband's known how since he was 8. We have several guns, bows and arrows, etc in our house. I grew up in a house where guns were kept loaded, and we knew exactly where they were. We were taught from a very early age what guns were used for.
Elliott will learn how to shoot when he gets a little bit older. The guns are left out where he can see them, but he knows not to touch them. They aren't loaded, and the ammo is all locked away.
We have a lot of guns in the house...hubby is a police officer and an avid hunter. Matthew got his first BB gun when he was 4 and his .22 when he was 5. Both boys KNOW that under no circumstances are they to mess with the guns unless dad or I are with them. Matthew has taken the hunter safety course and was able to get his duck stamps this year. Matt took the boys duck hunting last week and they had a lot of fun. Guns are a big part of our lives, BUT we take precautions and teach our boys the right way to handle them.
I would never allow my child to fire a gun that would be way to big and powerful for them to begin with. In order to have a gun you need to respect what a gun can do. Its not a game to play or a toy.