In Case You Missed This... '8-Yr-Old Boy Shoots Self at Gun Show' - ABCNews

[WillyT]

8-Yr-Old Boy Shoots Self at Gun Show
By SARAH NETTER - ABCNews
Oct. 27, 2008

<snip>

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.


Eight-year-old Christopher Bizilj accidentally shot
and killed himself Sunday with an Uzi submachine gun
while his father and a firearm instructor stood nearby.

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.

<snip>

Link: http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=6121915&page=1#.UA4QEmFDwrU

[pscot]

1. If only there'd been someone with a CW permit nearbye

[Loudly]

2. Sure that's an old story.

And nobody paid any criminal price because they all felt so bad.

Which is why licensing parenthood is an absolute must.

Otherwise, if not licensed and certified, any offspring is promptly placed with a responsible applicant.

[Tejas]

9. "licensing parenthood is an absolute must"

Odd concept.

[Union Scribe]

19. That sounds...creepy...nt

[Incitatus]

37. What would you suggest as the criteria for licensing and how could such a program be enforced? nt

[Kablooie]

42. I've got a license that says "Best Dad in the World", does that count?

[snooper2]

49. how many kids do you have and what are their ages?

[aikoaiko]

3. That was a sad and horrible event 4 years ago that I remember like it was yesterday.

The description of the video that recorded the event and the fathers grief almost makes me physically upset just thinking about it.

Yes, the death involved the reckless, negligent supervision of adults who shouldn't have let someone so small use such a gun, but there are many ways for parents to negligently supervise their kids during recreational activities where the kids pay the price horribly.

[robinlynne]

30. recreational activities? a machine gun? machine guns are for wars. They are not recreational.

[freshwest]

33. Yes, agreed. But then, I don't have the sense of humor some have about this. 'Fun and recreation.'

[aikoaiko]

43. Shooting stuff safely is fun to many people. The machine gun shoot was designed for recreation.

I take it you have not shot a machine gun.

Have you shot any firearm at a range?

[robinlynne]

52. no. I do not find firearms to be fun in any way.

[aikoaiko]

53. I can understand how someone might think like you, but can you see...

....how other reasonable might enjoy shooting firearms safely?

[robinlynne]

55. the answer then would be, STRONG GUN CONTROL. There is no other way for you to use them SAFELY.

[WillyT]

56. Yeah... I Do... But Apparently Enough Idiots There, Thought It Was Safe...

They were deadly wrong.

[aikoaiko]

57. I feel the same way about that tragic death.

It should never have happened. The parent should not have allowed the child to shoot that gun. And the supervisor inadequately controlled the weapon which led to the child's death.

I have a seven year old boy and I can't imagine putting him in that situation.

[Brickbat]

4. The gun was unpermitted and the operator was a 15-year-old without a license.

[WillyT]

5. Please Explain... I Thought The "Operator" Was An 8 Year Old...

[Brickbat]

6. Yeah, "operator" was a bad word to use.

"Supervisor" might have been better. The kid who stood there holding the gun until someone came along to shoot it.

[pnwmom]

7. So?

[Brickbat]

10. I was adding to the article, which was an early version of the story where the information

about the gun and supervisor wasn't available.

[robinlynne]

36. which says, even on its own, that we desperately need strict GUN CONTROLs!

[WillyT]

11. Really... REALLY ???

An 8 year old dies for... what... a greater cause ???

Please... I'm imagining the worst of you... please set me straight.

[Tejas]

12. Dig up GUN news 4yrs old>post in GD>no comment

Repeat for effect?

[WillyT]

14. That Was GobbleDeGook... Spit It Out...

WHAT is it... you are trying to say ???



Spill it.

[Tejas]

18. huh?

[robinlynne]

35. thank goodness you are out there speaking. WillyT.

[WillyT]

60. I'm Not Afraid Of These Cowards... The Fact That They NEED Guns To Defend Themselves...

Speaks volumes of their fear and loathing... and pants wetting...

They are no better than gang members. In fact... they are worse.

[robinlynne]

61. I say +1 to everything you say. you're just better at it than I am. I get angry.

[WillyT]

62. ...

[-..__...]

13. Hey, folks... look... it's anti-gun marathon week on DU...

where stories from 2008 are never too old to rehash.

You guys must really be running out of ammunition to drag this one up.

[Tejas]

16. They're just following instructions.

[Omaha Steve]

17. Sad you think so little of an 8 year old

Is your real world name Sandusky?

[Tejas]

21. Are you holding the 4th annual candlelight vigil?

I would gladly attend if financially possible.

[WillyT]

20. Ironic... You Use The Word "Ammunition"...

Ah hell... an 8 year old in Connecticut...



A 6 year old in Aurora...



As long as our "rights" are protected.

Right???

[Tejas]

24. Odd, no comment whatsoever in the OP by you, but all of a sudden

[smirkymonkey]

59. So F**ing tragic. I am in tears. Such beautiful little children.

Lost beacause of the worship of guns. What a waste. Anyone who justifies these murders with the usual NRA rhetoric shoud be shot themselves.

[markpkessinger]

27. Yeah, but setting aside the issue of gun control . . .

. . . WHO THE FUCK LETS AN EIGHT YEAR OLD HANDLE A FIREARM OF ANY TYPE???

[Skittles]

28. GUN NUTS

[-..__...]

66. Why would anyone have a problem with that?

Plenty of kids, 8yo and younger participate in shooting sports.








I wish I had had the opportunity to get involved sooner/younger... but me mum was as anti-gun as one can get (so much for following my parents upbringing).

The problem with that particular incident was poor judgment and improper supervision... the kid shouldn't have been allowed to handle that particular firearm (a micro-Uzi).

If the kid really wanted to fire a full-auto for the first time, it probably would have been better to let him shoot off a few round from a belt-fed light machine gun instead (an M-60 for example), from the prone position.

[robinlynne]

32. We are running out of patience. Killing is not a sport to us.

[_ed_]

45. A kid blows his head off

and all you want to do is defend your guns (penis extensions).

[Remmah2]

48. Do I detect a fetish for gun owners?

Some people seemed to be obsessed with penises.

[Remmah2]

47. Now I know why some people shouldn't be allowed ownership of firearms.

No attention to detail.

They not only dance in the blood of the dead, they're digging up bodies too.

[robinlynne]

65. Do you belong to the NRA? I jsut want to know if any DUers also belong to the NRA?

[-..__...]

67. Not for a few years now.

They've pretty much abandoned Massachusetts gun owners except for providing services and funding for ranges, gun clubs and safety/kids shooting leagues.

[robinlynne]

68. What did they used to do for Mass gun owners?

[Arugula Latte]

15. Ain't that America

Something to see
Ain't that America
For you and me.

[onehandle]

22. Gun shows are magnets for the most irresponsible people in 'merica.

And the next Timothy McVeighs.

I would say shut them down, but like the Gungeon, they're a good place to corral and monitor them.

[friendly_iconoclast]

29. "Corral and monitor them"? It's more about the 'control' and less about guns with you lot.

How would you feel if some RWinger said the same about DU in general?

[UnrepentantLiberal]

38. I think one just did.

[Politicalboi]

23. They have T's for ball

Why not some kind of tripod to hold the gun still while a child is using it. Then have a simulator gun that reacts the same way as the gun so they get the feel, and learn to control it. It still may not be 100% safe, but it will give them "experience" before using live ammo.

I am not a gun lover. It felt really weird writing about how to make it safer for children to shoot guns. People can't drive a forklift till certified, but they give children live ammo their first trip out without any "hands on" supervision.

[robinlynne]

34. Why should anyone learn to fire a machine gun if they are not soldiers? Noone but the mlitary

should ever learn how to fire a machine gun.

[Skittles]

25. that gun nut paid a fee to let his son play with a machine gun

then received a $700,000 settlement for his son's death

[WillyT]

26. I Hope It Was Worth It...

But I Really Really Doubt It...

[freshwest]

31. What a precious little face.

[bl968]

40. I will see your 8 year old at a gun show, and up it

With a 3 year old shoots self in the foot while he lived it's another sign of the gun-insanity affecting our country.

[GReedDiamond]

64. At least the parents of the 3 year old who shot himself in the foot...

...weren't responsible for putting a too-powerful-to-handle gun in the kid's 3-year-old hand, under the "expert" supervision of professional "gun experts."

They simply left the gun layin' around where the little scamp could grab it and accidentally shoot himself, of his own free, 2nd 'mendment/God Given/NRA Endorsed/'mercan will.

If anybody really gives a shit about my opinions, or not, I could care less.

I despise guns, but support the 2nd Amendment where applicable, and the gun nuts are in not applicable territory.

Fuck the NRA and any political hack who takes $$$ from them for them to maintain their evil, corporatist, violence-generating agenda.

That's my first, last and only post on guns I should need to make here, so don't bother engaging me, all ye gun nuts.

My time is better served on other projects not involving needless death, maiming, and all around general destruction of society, for profit and political power.

[W T F]

41. "Guns don't kill, people do" ok, lock up the boy's father for child endangerment

[xchrom]

44. Du rec. Nt

[Remmah2]

46. Oct. 27, 2008 ????

Is this the twilight zone?

[malaise]

50. Pity it didn't take out his father and the instructor

Stupid fucks

[malaise]

51. Question

Is there a reason why a father can't allow his eight year old child to drive on the streets with a parent in the car?
Who allows an eight year old to shoot a fucking Uzi?

[Cali_Democrat]

54. If only someone else there had been armed

this tragedy could have been prevented

[valerief]

58. I'm sure the dad is happy he has his "freedoms". nt

[lonestarnot]

63. People are out of their fucking minds! Why in the fuck did this happen! Liability for firearm

instructor who should be held to a higher standard than Dr. Dad?

[Tsiyu]

69. The parents and the gunshow operators should be in prison

Had this been a poor child - of any race - who was killed in such a way, there would be so many charges the parent would never get out.

But Daddy's a bigwig, so Meh- just another senseless death so some people can live out their fantasies.

There was no justice in this situation - merely another sacrifice at the altar of the gun.

And yes, I have shot guns with my kids, but had I allowed this to happen to one of them, I would want to be imprisoned for my negligence and stupidity.

As a physician, daddy knew the muscle strength of an eight-year-old, but it was just "ooh, so cool, look at my boy bein a man - oops! Now look at my boy being dead!"

His sorrow doesn't trump his criminal negligence as a parent. But money and esteem always seem to buy innocence, no matter what.

Been thinking about this kid all week.