9-year-old accidentally shoots instructor
Folks have been sending us this link yesterday from Fox News about the 9-year-old girl who accidentally shot her instructor in the head with a fully-automatic Uzi submachine gun. No one has mentioned the caliber, but I’m guessing it was a nine millimeter version, but I know Uzis come a .380 caliber and .45 caliber version.
It’s an unfortunate incident, but it was wholly preventable. Looking at the video, the girl didn’t have a firm grasp of the weapon and the recoil wrested the weapon from her left hand – she was obviously too small and too weak for the rate of fire of that particular weapon (600 rpm). She had good control when she fired a single shot – but, well;
Ronald Scott, a Phoenix-based firearms safety expert, said most shooting ranges have an age limit and strict safety rules when teaching children to shoot. He said instructors usually have their hands on guns when children are firing high-powered weapons.
“You can’t give a 9-year-old an Uzi and expect her to control it,” Scott said.
Yeah, that.
Category: Guns
From what I read the instructor was a veteran. RIP SSG.
Utterly stupid thing to do. We had a boy get killed here a few years back doing the very same thing. Gun rose up and he shot himself in the head.
There is zero reason a 9 year old should have been firing that weapon. Sorry he died, but I am glad it was not the little girl… and damn the nightmares she is going to be having now.
All for guns, all for shooting them, even full auto… but THINK!!!
I remember that one, 325. Not my neck of the woods, not my kin, but it hit me right in the heart. I think it was because the dad had taken his boys to shoot and I can only imagine how exciting and fun it must have been for the kid to get trigger with an Uzi. Unbelievably tragic. I just hate it.
I have to disagree. There’s no reason for a child not to be able to shoot that type of weapon with proper supervision. There are a TON of them shooting machine guns – at knob creek and at competitions. Katelyn Francis has been a competitive shooter for years.
http://www.military.com/video/guns/gunfire/13-year-old-girl-is-shooting-phenom/2158107404001/
So has Shyanne Roberts, who is only 9 years old.
This was a tragic accident, but to claim there’s zero reason for a young child to fire said weapon is reactionary.
Ok, you got me interested…..
Please tell me why a child should have trigger time on an automatic weapon?
Can you produce any legitimate need for it outside of competition?
I understand that there are children competing in shooting contests, but those children have experience with other firearms. I’m betting alot of trigger time on semi automatics.
You kind of answered your own question. The determining factor should be the child’s experience level and level of training that child has received. It’s not really fair to the children who have put in the trigger time and training to say they should not be rewarded for their efforts
1) On a fundamental level, it’s a Bill of Rights, not a Bill of Needs. 2) Automatic weapons are fun to shoot, and like semi-automatics they teach children respect for the tool. My son shot his first machine gun when he was 8 years old. He shot an Uzi for the first time when he was 11. He is cautious and focused. He has respect for the tool, and he has been taught well. This brings me to my next point. I will quote Dan Roberts – the father of competitive shooter Shyanne Roberts and his observations after having watched the video. These are his personal observations in is experience with a young competitive shooter. “What I saw in that video was a series of mistakes of basic safety rules that resulted in a tragic accident for all involved. My condolences go out to the unidentified child and her family, as well as the family of the Instructor involved. I have no personal or firsthand knowledge of the facility, the instructor or his level of certification or of that of the girl and her experience or lack thereof. I can only go by what I observed in the short video that has been released. In my OPINION, I observed at least three safety issues. A violation of the 180 degree rule, by virtue of the fact that he was standing beside her as opposed to at a 45 degree angle off her shoulder toward the rear. With EVERY person I have taught, or even with Shyanne trying a new platform, I position myself in position of safety, but also where I can position my hands in such a way, that if there is an issue of any kind, I can immediately direct the firearm in a safe direction. I did not see that being done, and the result is obvious. Lastly. And again, this is a personal rule of mine, that I adhere to religiously, with a student, my daughter or a new, unfamiliar platform. You load and shoot one round while closely observing for any safety or control issues.… Read more »
The 45deg rule is what got me at first look. I don’t even stand shoulder to shoulder with adult shooters I know if it can be avoided.
9 year old kids do not need Uzis.
Common sense.
That was kinda my point Green…9 year olds do not need experience with automatic weapons. I don’t care if they are fun to shoot or not.
Also, the other Uzi kid incident happened her in Connecticut. It lead to a law change that says you must be 16 to fire any automatic weapons.
Common sense.
Look, you asked me for my opinion, and I gave it to you. Instead of refuting anything I said, you simply repeat your contention that there’s no need. Worse yet… let’s have yet ANOTHER law to add to the books in a kneejerk reaction to a very rare tragedy.
My point was that there are various reasons that children would be introduced to automatic firearms. In MOST cases, this does not end up in a tragedy. I think you are making the common mistake of reacting to media hype. The gun grabbers are using this to push for more gun control.
To me, common sense is to assess the shooter, teach them properly, help them control the firearm until you are damn sure they can do it on their own, and ensure that if they’re not ready, you don’t allow them to shoot that thing on their own.
My son shot his first automatic weapon when he was 8, and he did just fine – under very close supervision of myself and the owner of the MP5. One of us had our hands on that firearm the entire time he was shooting it, helping him control it and ensuring he always aimed downrange.
That’s common sense. Not a blanket indictment of every parent who allows their kid to shoot this weapon.
The range where that happened is only a few hundred yards from my house and I hear shots all the time. I am a vet and supporter of 2nd Amendment, but every time I hear that range I think about my two young sons and stray bullets.
For crying out loud I’ve seen adults, a long time ago, overpowered by an automatic weapon. What in the hell does anyone think will happen to a nine year old little girl?
THIS TRAGEDY DID NOT HAVE TO HAPPEN, NO SHOULD IT HAVE and now two families are forever changed….especially that little girl.
*NOR* SHOULD IT HAVE. Sorry…..
This is a repeat performance, as a similar tragedy occurred a couple of years ago at a gun show in the Northeast, when a eight year old boy lost control of the Uzi he was firing on full automatic, and accidentally killed himself.
I suspect that well-documented and widely reported previous incident will probably have a major role in any future civil litigation and/or criminal prosecution resulting from this latter instance.
B-b-b-b-b-b-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-ooooppps
You owe me a new keyboard…
Well this is bad news all around. I can understand youth gun training programs for pistols and rifles but not for automatics. Especially at that age and an unknown level of experience. The gun grabbers are going to have a big media day with this. I can see it now, all training courses for youth groups will be legislated out of existence due to this. The instructor here should have used more common sense. I watched the video on Youtube and he should have been behind her to steady her and control her arms. If he was going to do this at all. It is a moot point now. I am sorry for the lose of his life and for his family. I appreciate he meant no harm and believed he was in control but being as familiar with the Uzi as he seemed to be, he should never have been standing where he was. The climb rate and angle of an Uzi is predictable to anyone who has shot one. Also, he should have never let her fire full auto.
All said, it is a sad and tragic situation and I feel badly for his family and especially the little girl. Especially her.
What in the fuck were they thinking? I am all for teaching children how to shoot, about weapons safety and the responsibility of handling a firearm. But who in their right mind would allow a 9 year old to fire a fully automatic UZI? I fired one for the hell of it a few years back with the buttstock folded under and I could barely control the thing. How could they expect a 9 year old little girl to do so?
Exactly. And ‘firearms instructors’ need to have the expertise and backbone to say ‘no’ to stupid and dangerous situations.
Aren’t all firearms training programs regulated by their respective states? I can’t believe that state regulatory agencies wouldn’t have age restrictions in place to guard against exactly this kind of screw-up.
But even without regulation, common sense is supposed to be the common law of firearms handling. Allowing a nine year old girl to fire an UZI on full auto requires a willful suspension of common sense.
In the story, the owner of the range stated that you have to be 8 years old to fire a weapon.
Well the regulations should be tighter than just “eight years old.” As MCPO points out below there needs to be some common sense applied as to what age group is able to use what classes of weapons.
Exactly. My daughter turns 7 in November. We just taught her how to fire safely a single shot .22LR rifle. I would never let her fire a fully auto weapon in that age group.
This could have been prevented. A little common sense goes a long way.
Netted out for those playing the home version of TAH:
Red Ryder … YES
Ruger 22 Long … MAYBE
AR-14 … NOT ‘TILL 14 YEARS OLD
Uzi … 9 YEARS OLD – NO FRIGGIN’ WAY
Nothing Further!
Perfectly illustrated Master Chief!
My father gave me a Savage .410 single barrel shotgun for Christmas when I was 10. Hell, back then for me it like shooting a 12 ga. So this little girl firing such a short, difficult to control weapon like an Uzi was a terrible mistake.
Expect gun grabbers to use this as a reason why we need to ban “assault weapons” in 3,2,1…
While a sad situation all around, I’m glad that if someone had to pay the ultimate price, it was the “responsible” adult who allowed the action to occur. The poor girl will have nightmares now because an adult made a foolish decision.
My condolences to all affected and their families, but seriously bro, this is why we can’t have nice things. You just set the gun rights movement back another decade.
That little girl can never hear the words, ‘It wasn’t your fault’ enough.
Hear, hear!
Probably also can’t hear enough in addition to that, “It wasn’t your fault, your parents are morons.”
Left/right limit stakes on the bench and a muzzle tether.
Bandaids. Either she should not have been allowed to shoot or he should have a) not stood where uncontrolled recoil would point the weapon and b) sure as hell should have either had at least one hand on it or been in a position to grab it (like ‘hand an inch above it’.) For an adult Uzi recoil is pretty light but not to a kid. Not to speak ill of the dead but he screwed the pooch and paid a heavy price.
That site will be in this .little girls mind for the rest of her life. I am certain that she will be in counseling for many years to come.
This is just stupid, plain and simple fucking stupid and should never have happened but for the stupidity of one man.
If he was a Veteran it is doubly stupid, he should have never let that little girl touch that firearm…
I agree with Stacy and Dave Hardin…
This is exactly what we didn’t need…
This was not part of any NRA sponsored class. They have no plans that include any automatic weapons…
Preventable and unfortunate.
I agree with 08 oles rights to own firearms. I don’t agree that said people should be handing high powered automatic weapons to children just because “it’s cool”.
Too many kids have what I call “Call of Duty syndrome.” They think they can pick up a weapon and pull the trigger and are invincible if something goes wrong.
Regardless of the experience of the Instructor, it is never a good idea to hand a child an automatic weapon. Sorry if you disagree with me, but most children cannot comprehend the danger involved.
Should say people’s right. Stupid autocorrect.
I’ve seen it too many times on youtube. Fortunately, I haven’t seen too many videos with children, but I’ve seen plenty with cute 90lbs babes shooting .44s and Desert Eagles.
One shot > massive recoil > muzzle on forehead > finger still in trigger-well> slide still charged. God damned idiots.
As another wiser poster has already said….
A little common sense goes a long way….
Sadly, that component seems to be missing in the last decade or so.
Every time I see that crap I half expect to see someone’s brain matter blown out the back of their heads.
It’s not cute, it’s not funny, and whoever the dicks are who think this is a good idea and laugh about it afterwards need to have any weapons they have jerked out of their possession and throat punched most ricky-tick.
I’m also all for teaching kids about firearms, starting with safety and responsibility as well as marksmanship. Fully automatic firearms DO NOT BELONG anywhere in that, a child PERIOD has no business firing an automatic weapon! My condolences on the loss and the trauma I’m sure it gave that little girl, but letting her fire that was extremely irresponsible!
She wasn’t taught that’s the thing. It’s why the guy was in an very unsafe position to manipulate the weapon for her and assist.
No good will come from this. I do wonder who chose that weapon – the kid or the parents. I found this page (loads very slowly): http://www.uzi.com/firearms/ and this one: http://www.thespecialistsltd.com/files/Replica_IMI_Micro_Uzi.jpg After looking at the photos and the videos it looks to me like the weapon was the micro-Uzi. I have fired a full-sized Uzi and there was a fore-end that you could grab. Anyone please help me out, what the heck does your left hand grab on that Micro gun? Second, I see a front and a rear sight. Just right of the front sight is something that appears to be a “charging handle” or the equivalent. Does anyone know if that cycles with the bolt? OPINION: if it cycles with the bolt, then Mr. Vacca would not want to put his hand up there to stop the gun from moving in his direction. When my oldest daughter had a birthday — maybe 12 or 13, we asked what she wanted. She replied that she wanted to shoot a machine gun. I took her and her younger brother to a range. When we headed out, both kids had basic instruction and a little experience with weapons. We rented an Uzi and an HK MP5. The kids were closely supervised. That range did something that I think might have helped in this situation. Each kid started with a magazine with zero rounds and dry fire. Then a magazine with 1 round. They each fired two or three rounds that way. Then a magazine with 2 rounds – lean into the gun, yank the trigger and see how the kid handles it. Then they were told, don’t just hold down the trigger, shoot 2-4 round bursts. Then a couple of 3 or 4 round mags, fire 2-round bursts. Then a 6-round mag, fire three 2-round bursts or two 3-round bursts. Then a full magazine with the instructions – 3-round bursts. At some point my son fired a long burst — maybe 10 or 12 rounds but he didn’t lose control or shoot into the ceiling. We told him to stop that… Read more »
It’s been a decade since I fired one, but yes I believe that the charging handle is reciprocating with the bolt. But like I said, it’s been a decade. Could be wrong on that. Regardless, I would rather have a chewed up hand than be dead.
Horrific.
If this guy was an instructor, he should have known better than to give a 9-year-old girl a compact SMG with the stock folded and the selector on full auto. Sorry to say it, but he could have prevented this mess and stayed alive with a little common sense. I feel so sorry for that little girl.
Even better, where was her father? As a dad, I stand BEHIND my children and “assist” them when they shoot. I call it quality time, my wife calls it “making sure my boys don’t blow themselves up”.
My 10 year old LOVES to shoot my wife’s .380 (Glock 42). Nothing wrong with kids shooting any gun, as long as the appropriate safety’s are taken.
He won’t make that mistake again…
What? Too soon?
I have been to Knob Creek, KY and rented auto weapons. I had a malfunction in the “grease gun .45). I am familiar with this type of weapon and was clearing it, when the so called “range officer” grabbed it out of my hands, swung around with the barrel towards the on-lookers and cleared it. My jaw dropped.
I calmly request another safety officer and proceeded to empty the mag. I than picked up the BAR (.30 cal) and from the hip, emptied that mag. This safety officer placed his hand behind my right shoulder while I fired. I swear the rounds had to be a half-load as I hardly felt any recoil. Again, I am familer with this weapon as I was a Gunner’s Mate striker before I noticed all the hash marks on the GMG3 left over from Korea. BZ