Re: UPDATE / Boy 8, Killed by Uzi
- From: "tiny dancer" <tinydancer357@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2008 22:40:27 -0400
Photo of child at link;
http://www.cbs3springfield.com/news/local/33411444.html
Video including boys father:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p5eAZ7b5AY
What can one say, a physician father. An ER doctor with an eight year old
who's already fired numerous handguns and rifles.
td
-----------------------------
"tiny dancer" <tinydancer357@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:mWqNk.48380$IB6.28037@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
What an idiot, the kids father is the director of emergency medicine at
Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs, Conn. One would think he
would be quite familiar with *accidents*, especially gun related.
Boy Accidentally Killed by Submachine Gun at Firearms Expo
Father, Instructor Nearby When the 8-Year-Old Fired Micro Uzi
By SARAH NETTER
Oct. 27, 2008-
With his father and a firearms instructor standing nearby, an 8-year-old
Connecticut boy shot himself in the head with a submachine gun yesterday,
killing himself in an accident some say should never have happened.
Christopher Bizilj was testing a 9 mm Micro Uzi at the Westfield
Sportsman's Club in Westfield, Mass., as part of the Machine Gun Shoot and
Firearms Expo, when he shot himself Sunday.
"The firearm instructor prepped the weapon for him, and once it was ready
he handed it to the child," Westfield Police Lt. Hipolito Nunez told
ABCNews.com today. Christopher then pulled the trigger, and the gun's
recoil pulled the barrel upward, causing a round to hit him on the right
side of his head, according Nunez. He was pronounced dead a short time
later at Baystate Medical Center in nearby Springfield.
Massachusetts law allows a child to fire a gun with parental consent, so
long as there's an active permit for the gun and a licensed firearm
instructor is supervising. It is unclear whether the gun had a permit or
whether the instructor was licensed, but Nunez said Christopher's father
was nearby.
Christopher's family, including his father, Dr. Charles Bizilj, who is the
director of emergency medicine at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford
Springs, Conn., could not be reached for comment.
But according to Ted Oven, a gun retailer and president of the
Massachusetts Association of Firearms Dealers, Christopher should have
never been allowed to handle a submachine gun on his own.
Oven has shot similar weapons and said the recoil is tough to control even
for an adult.
"It requires all my strength," said Oven, who added that he did not have
much experience with the Micro Uzi. "For an 8-year-old, it was
inappropriate."
The Micro Uzi, he said, is a tough gun to get a permit for and retails for
several thousand dollars. He was not at the expo when Christopher was shot
but said that because the gun is fully automatic, it likely shot off
several rounds in a couple of seconds when the boy pulled the trigger.
Information found on Uzitalk.com, an Internet forum dedicated to the
Israeli-made submachine guns, described the Micro Uzi as coming on the
market in 1986 and having the capability to fire 25 rounds in less than 30
seconds. The guns, manufactured by Israeli Military Industries Ltd., are
generally designed for military and police use.
'No Permits or Licenses Required'
Messages left with COP Firearms & Training, the co-sponsor of the gun
expo, and the president of the Westfield Sportsman's Club, were not
immediately returned.
The flier for the expo advertised that it was "all legal and fun -- no
permits or licenses required."
Targets listed on the flier included pumpkins, vehicles and "other fun
stuff we can't print here!"
The Boston Field Division of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives is investigating the accident along with the
Westfield Police, Massachusetts State Police and the Hampden County
District Attorney's Office.
James McNally, spokesman for the ATF's Boston division declined to comment
until more information was available, but said "it's been awful."
Susan Gates, general counsel for the Washington, D.C.-based Children's
Defense Fund, said the shooting in Westfield was a tragic reminder that
there is not enough being done in the U.S. to keep guns out of children's
hands.
"It just continues to illustrate why children should not have access to
any type of gun," Gates said.
Most children killed by guns handled them in their homes, and accidents at
expos and shooting ranges are much less common, according to Gates.
But even though Massachusetts law, and those of many other states, allow
children to shoot weapons in a controlled environment, the Children's
Defense Fund's policy is that those laws aren't strong enough.
"It is so dangerous, as well seen by this incident, to handle any type of
loaded gun, never mind a loaded Uzi," Gates said.
William Hockla has lived across the street from Biziljs for years and said
Christopher was very bright and active. He heard about the shooting on the
radio this morning.
"I was hoping it wasn't true," he said.
He described Charles Bizilj and his wife Suzanne as involved parents who
took their two boys camping, fishing and skiing.
"They were very polite, well-groomed," he said. "Terrific boys."
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=6121915&page=1
.
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