Pure_Evil
10-28-2008, 12:44 PM
Yup, he's dead!
Boy Killed Firing Submachine Gun At Firearms Expo
By MARK SPENCER and DAVID OWENS
October 28, 2008
Eight-year-old Christopher Bizilj died after accidentally shooting himself in the head in what was supposed to be among the safest possible settings for youngsters to handle firearms.
The third-grader from Ashford, a well-liked "all-American boy," was attending a "Machine Gun Shoot & Firearms Expo" on Sunday at the long-established Westfield Sportsman's Club in Massachusetts. While shooting, he was supervised by a trained professional and within sight of his father, Dr. Charles Bizilj, the medical director of emergency and critical care at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford.
Yet something went horribly wrong.
What some, including a longtime club member and retired gun designer, found most startling was that the boy was firing a 9mm, Micro Uzi submachine gun, a weapon that weighs about 5 pounds and can fire 1,200 rounds a minute.
"Allowing the boy to handle the gun by himself was stupid and criminal negligence," said Robert A. Greenleaf Sr., 86, who left the club's board of directors because he opposed the annual machine gun shoot. Someone should have held the gun and allowed the boy to pull the trigger, he said.
"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 [recoil] and he ended up receiving a round in his head."
The boy was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, where he died.
The two-day event was sponsored by the club and COP Firearms & Training, a business owned by Edward B. Fleury, a firearms instructor and dealer, and the police chief in Pelham, Mass. Fleury could not be reached for comment.
While an 8-year-old with an Uzi may seem incongruous, it is legal in Massachusetts and Connecticut under the right circumstances. Officials in Massachusetts said anyone under the age of 18 can fire an automatic weapon with parental consent and a licensed instructor present. Connecticut State Police spokesman Trooper William Tate said anyone under the age of 16 needs to be under the direct supervision of a parent to fire such a weapon.
A federal stamp on a gun permit is required to own an automatic weapon, but in certain circumstances the license holder can supervise others using the weapon, authorities said.
Nunez said the incident remains under investigation, including whether those involved with the event had proper licenses and permits. Nunez declined to release the name of the instructor who accompanied Christopher to the firing line.
There are more questions than answers at this point about the incident, but people involved in firearms education and training say there is nothing inherently dangerous about a youngster handling an automatic weapon.
"With proper knowledge and proper safety, they're no more dangerous than any other firearm," said Brian R. Kowalcyk, a National Rifle Association certified instructor and the vice president of the Mattabassett Rifle & Pistol Club in Berlin.
Robert Crook, executive director of the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, said all but a few gun clubs in the state ban automatic weapons, but it's for practical reasons, such as noise problems, rather than safety concerns. He said accidents at firing ranges are "very, very, very rare."
State Rep. Michael Lawlor, D- East Haven, who has supported gun-control legislation, said although he thought it was "a little crazy" to allow a child to shoot a machine gun, it could conceivably be done safely.
"It's a really dangerous thing to hand an 8-year-old," said Lawlor, co-chairman of the state legislature's judiciary committee. "If you're going to do that you'd better take every reasonable precaution to make sure nothing goes wrong."
Charles Bizilj told the Boston Globe that a trained professional was with Christopher when he had the Uzi, but doesn't think the person was holding the weapon as his son pressed the trigger.
He said his son had fired handguns and rifles, but Sunday was the first time he had fired an automatic weapon.
While psychologists on the crisis team at Ashford School, where Christopher attended with his older brother, counseled faculty and students, friends and relatives gathered Monday at the Bizilj home to comfort the family. Neighbor William Hockla, who described Christopher as "an all-American boy," said his wife heard of the death on the radio Monday morning, but the family's name was mispronounced. "Gee, I hope it's someone else," he recalled saying to himself. Then, he said, the TV cameras began showing up.
"Then I knew it was true," he said.
Guns don't kill people, people kill people... this kids Dad basically killed him. I could not fathom handing my son a firearm, let alone a f-n machine gun!
People say there should be less gun laws, waive the constitution. Well, as we get dumber, we require more restrictions. Sad, but true.
Boy Killed Firing Submachine Gun At Firearms Expo
By MARK SPENCER and DAVID OWENS
October 28, 2008
Eight-year-old Christopher Bizilj died after accidentally shooting himself in the head in what was supposed to be among the safest possible settings for youngsters to handle firearms.
The third-grader from Ashford, a well-liked "all-American boy," was attending a "Machine Gun Shoot & Firearms Expo" on Sunday at the long-established Westfield Sportsman's Club in Massachusetts. While shooting, he was supervised by a trained professional and within sight of his father, Dr. Charles Bizilj, the medical director of emergency and critical care at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford.
Yet something went horribly wrong.
What some, including a longtime club member and retired gun designer, found most startling was that the boy was firing a 9mm, Micro Uzi submachine gun, a weapon that weighs about 5 pounds and can fire 1,200 rounds a minute.
"Allowing the boy to handle the gun by himself was stupid and criminal negligence," said Robert A. Greenleaf Sr., 86, who left the club's board of directors because he opposed the annual machine gun shoot. Someone should have held the gun and allowed the boy to pull the trigger, he said.
"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 [recoil] and he ended up receiving a round in his head."
The boy was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, where he died.
The two-day event was sponsored by the club and COP Firearms & Training, a business owned by Edward B. Fleury, a firearms instructor and dealer, and the police chief in Pelham, Mass. Fleury could not be reached for comment.
While an 8-year-old with an Uzi may seem incongruous, it is legal in Massachusetts and Connecticut under the right circumstances. Officials in Massachusetts said anyone under the age of 18 can fire an automatic weapon with parental consent and a licensed instructor present. Connecticut State Police spokesman Trooper William Tate said anyone under the age of 16 needs to be under the direct supervision of a parent to fire such a weapon.
A federal stamp on a gun permit is required to own an automatic weapon, but in certain circumstances the license holder can supervise others using the weapon, authorities said.
Nunez said the incident remains under investigation, including whether those involved with the event had proper licenses and permits. Nunez declined to release the name of the instructor who accompanied Christopher to the firing line.
There are more questions than answers at this point about the incident, but people involved in firearms education and training say there is nothing inherently dangerous about a youngster handling an automatic weapon.
"With proper knowledge and proper safety, they're no more dangerous than any other firearm," said Brian R. Kowalcyk, a National Rifle Association certified instructor and the vice president of the Mattabassett Rifle & Pistol Club in Berlin.
Robert Crook, executive director of the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, said all but a few gun clubs in the state ban automatic weapons, but it's for practical reasons, such as noise problems, rather than safety concerns. He said accidents at firing ranges are "very, very, very rare."
State Rep. Michael Lawlor, D- East Haven, who has supported gun-control legislation, said although he thought it was "a little crazy" to allow a child to shoot a machine gun, it could conceivably be done safely.
"It's a really dangerous thing to hand an 8-year-old," said Lawlor, co-chairman of the state legislature's judiciary committee. "If you're going to do that you'd better take every reasonable precaution to make sure nothing goes wrong."
Charles Bizilj told the Boston Globe that a trained professional was with Christopher when he had the Uzi, but doesn't think the person was holding the weapon as his son pressed the trigger.
He said his son had fired handguns and rifles, but Sunday was the first time he had fired an automatic weapon.
While psychologists on the crisis team at Ashford School, where Christopher attended with his older brother, counseled faculty and students, friends and relatives gathered Monday at the Bizilj home to comfort the family. Neighbor William Hockla, who described Christopher as "an all-American boy," said his wife heard of the death on the radio Monday morning, but the family's name was mispronounced. "Gee, I hope it's someone else," he recalled saying to himself. Then, he said, the TV cameras began showing up.
"Then I knew it was true," he said.
Guns don't kill people, people kill people... this kids Dad basically killed him. I could not fathom handing my son a firearm, let alone a f-n machine gun!
People say there should be less gun laws, waive the constitution. Well, as we get dumber, we require more restrictions. Sad, but true.