8 year old shoots himself to death with an uzi at a gun show

[Titan]

"Christopher apparently lost control as he fired the gun, forcing it upwards and back, causing him to shoot himself in the head, said Westfield Police Lt. Hipolito Nunez. Christopher was under the supervision of a certified instructor, as well as his father, Dr. Charles Bizilj, when he was shot."

A doctor. Wow.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

And that's just it. Even a standard 9mm handgun has a decent kick. Far more than an 8 year old could hope to keep under control. An uzi is a 9mm firing constantly. This wasn't so much a horrible tragedy as it was statistical probability manifesting itself.

I think the sad indictment of America's gun culture is the comments at the end from the police stating they havent laid charges as they are still researching the law. I'd say reckless endangerment and involuntary manslaughter are two obvious ones in a sane world.

I remember "borrowing" my friend's older brother's 9mm Smith and Wesson when I was about 15. I was twice as old as this kid and it had a kick and a half.

I thought when I saw the headline that some poor kid had found his Dad's uzi and had an accident with it. To discover that it was supervised...... wow..... just wow.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by Titan

"Christopher apparently lost control as he fired the gun, forcing it upwards and back, causing him to shoot himself in the head, said Westfield Police Lt. Hipolito Nunez. Christopher was under the supervision of a certified instructor, as well as his father, Dr. Charles Bizilj, when he was shot."

A doctor. Wow.

http://www.johnsonhealthnetwork.com/bizilj.htm

Dr. Bizilj is the Medical Director of Emergency and Critical Care Services at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford, Connecticut. He has been the Director of the Department for the last seven years and a full time Emergency Department Physician since 1989.

If there is a type of doctor that should know better.....

[Russic]

Doesn't get a whole lot more preventable then that. What brutal judgment from everybody involved (except the one who died who was relying on everybody else to keep him safe).

[Save Us Sutter]

This seems like an "only in America" type moment even if it realistically could happened anywhere. Tragic for the family but 100% preventable even with a little bit of common sense. If you want to teach your 8 year old to hunt... I guess that would be "ok" even though it's not a choice I personally would make, but where in the world/what are you hunting with an Uzi??? The only reason this kid was firing that gun was cause his Dad thought it would be a good idea for him to "feel the power" or some such nonsense. Power indeed.....

[Rerun]

Sad... just so sad.

Stupid Dad!!!!!!!!!!!!

[LChoy]

The face palm graphic is needed here.
Just unbelievable...

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

WOW!

Okay, I've been in more than one pro/anit gun debate here and I've made my point know that children and responsible gun ownership are not mutually exclusive, but man is this ever a tragic example of one without the other.

I've taken a lot of people to the shooting range, some big dudes and some little chicks and when I hand them a gun they've never shot before there is NEVER more than 1 round in it. Hell, when I'm shooting a firearm I've never used before I only load 1 round the first time. Why? Because sometimes people underestimate the recoil and sometimes they can pull the trigger more than once and bad things can happen, but if you are out of ammunition on after the first shot, the chances of something like this happening are pretty much non existant. With a fully automatic (something I've never used) this would be even more important.


Sad that what SHOULD be the most minimal of common sense could have prevented this.

[Calgaryborn]

Originally Posted by troutman

I can't think about blame right now. To lose a child must be the ultimate heart-break.

I think this is the first time I've ever agreed with you.

[Flash]

I can't even begin to understand what would possess someone to allow an 8 year old to fire an uzi. I don't even know why anyone would BRING an 8 year old to a gun show. Did he think it'd be a fun daddy/son day out? I wonder if he brought his older son along and let him fire first, thinking it'd be okay if one did it then the other. Unbelievable stupidity first and foremost on the father's part and on the so called "certified instructor". Could have been so easily avoided. What a shame.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by Save Us Sutter

This seems like an "only in America" type moment even if it realistically could happened anywhere. Tragic for the family but 100% preventable even with a little bit of common sense. If you want to teach your 8 year old to hunt... I guess that would be "ok" even though it's not a choice I personally would make, but where in the world/what are you hunting with an Uzi??? The only reason this kid was firing that gun was cause his Dad thought it would be a good idea for him to "feel the power" or some such nonsense. Power indeed.....

Is that really necessary? It gets so old.

In any case, I'm an outdoorsman who believes in responsible gun ownership. There is absolutely no reason that anyone who isn't in law enforcement or the military should ever be able to fire a fully automatic weapon. NO REASON WHATSOEVER.

The NRA perpetuates things like this because of the ignorant all or nothing attitude it takes toward gun rights. That's why I have never and will never be a member of the NRA.

[ricoFlame]

good god. what in the hell would you want your son to fire a gun like that for? insanity.

[prarieboy]

I used to go to a Trap club and there was a Ten year old that used to come with his Dad. I wouldn't shoot beside that kid cause he wasn't strong enough to hold the shotgun steady. I used to think something bad would happen

Kids and guns just don't mix.

I really feel for the boys family, what a tragedy. Not well thought out but I'm sure no one saw this coming.

Brutal

[Save Us Sutter]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

Is that really necessary? It gets so old.

Did you read the rest of the sentence? The part where I said it "realistically could have happened anywhere".

You can't deny the reputation America has as an "arm everyone" nation. An 8 year old with an Uzi is almost a "poster boy" for that reputation, hence the photograph.

It may be "old", and I understand you live in the US and are probably really sick of the various jokes made at it's expense, but that doesn't mean there isn't a huge percentage of non-Americans reading this story and thinking "only in America". Especially when you get into the details of how this particular gun show was being advertised to people. "Shoot at things we can't even print here"

I know it's exaggerated, and you know it's exaggerated but that doesn't make it wrong to point it out. Though I am sorry if I offended you or anyone else reading this.

Truth is, any time someone so young is killed it is tragic beyond words. Didn't mean to take away from that point.

[NuclearFart]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

http://www.johnsonhealthnetwork.com/bizilj.htm



If there is a type of doctor that should know better.....

Well, he did get his medical degree in the caribbean.....

Either way, complete lack of judgement by everyone involved. I'm not sure why kids should even be learning how to shoot guns in the first place, are we still preparing for Red Dawn? Can one of the pro-gunners here enlighten me?

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by NuclearFart

Well, he did get his medical degree in the caribbean.....

Either way, complete lack of judgement by everyone involved. I'm not sure why kids should even be learning how to shoot guns in the first place, are we still preparing for Red Dawn? Can one of the pro-gunners here enlighten me?

Pretty general question. Could you be a little more specific?

No kid should be shooting automatic weapons.

8 years old is a little young to be shooting anything.

[old-fart]

I was going to post that just because he has "Dr." infront of his name doesn't necessarily mean he's educated or smart. He could be a Dr. of almost anything, including naturopathic medicine or chiropractic for example. However, someone already posted he's an actual medical doctor.

Although, this particular medical doctor has now proven that just because he's a medical doctor, doesn't mean he isn't a moron.

[old-fart]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

Pretty general question. Could you be a little more specific?

No kid should be shooting automatic weapons.

8 years old is a little young to be shooting anything.

Maybe he was going to go hunting... for an entire herd of deer... and he didn't want to bother having to, you know, sneak up on them and, you know, aim.

[NuclearFart]

I guess that's my question: Why are they even allowing kids to shoot guns or any sort? Kids arent allowed to drive cars, and that's at least somewhat of a life skill. Knowing how to shoot a gun (regardless of automatic-ity) is not even close to life skills.

[RougeUnderoos]

I hate to be the guy who does this, but I can't help but wonder what kind of role tv/movies played in this. People are always firing guns in the movies. Uzis in particular, and there's some guy with an uzi in each hand firing in all directions, crossing his arms, shooting behind his head, between his legs all the while the bullets and shell casings are flying and looking cool. They really make it look easy. Effortless. I wonder if this poor kid's dumb old dad somehow believed what he saw in the movies.

That other story on the board about the rubes who were planning on assassinating Obama by "driving at him really fast and shooting out the windows" made me think the same thing. It's like these people think what they see in the movies is reality.

None of this excuses anybody or explains the role of the "instructor" in this tragedy of course. That doesn't make much sense at all. I thought these gun nuts were supposed to understand guns.