Girl Said Uzi Was Too Much For Her

[kpete]

Source: AP

PHOENIX (AP) — A 9-year-old girl who accidentally killed an instructor with an Uzi at an Arizona shooting range said immediately after the shooting that she felt the gun was too much for her and had hurt her shoulder, according to police reports released Tuesday.

Her family members were focused on the girl because they thought she was injured by the gun's recoil and didn't immediately realize instructor Charles Vacca had been shot until one of his colleagues ran over to him.

The family, whose hometown hasn't been revealed by investigators, had taken a shuttle on Aug. 25 from Las Vegas about 60 miles south to the Last Stop range in White Hills, Arizona.

The report did not say why the family had gone to the range or why they let the girl handle the Uzi.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/apnewsbreak-girl-said-uzi-was-too-much-her

[KamaAina]

1. Full story in this month's issue of DUH! Magazine.

On newsstands now.

[Helen Borg]

2. In case it was not obvious already...

[bigtonka]

3. What is wrong with her parents?

They have saddled their child with a heavy weight because of their irresponsible, foolish behavior.

[Fred Sanders]

8. The parents are law abiding patriots who wanted to prepare their little precious for the FEMA camps

Obama will send her parents to any day now, and now she can rescue them.

The NRA and Fox and their own political representatives say so. Not to mention hate radio, so they know what's up.

[bigworld]

4. They didn't notice the instructor was shot in the head?

They are all kinds of clueless.

[SummerSnow]

5. gunshot,blood, instructor laying on the ground? They didn't immediately know he was hurt?

smh

[Aerows]

6. Next on Obvious News

Fire is hot!

[valerief]

7. Thank you, Captain Obvious. Anyone with two neurons to rub together

knows children shouldn't handle Uzis. In fact, most people shouldn't handle Uzis. I guess only INSANE people like that gun range staff and the kid's parents think otherwise.

(No offense to insane people.)

[Fred Sanders]

9. Gun instructors need to have psychological clearance...but this was the only guy in all of America

to be so irresponsible I am sure.

And surely no more such irresponsible parents exist....Burgers and Bullets is just an aberration, nothing to see here folks.

[smiley]

10. Unfortunately

The person who is the most responsible for this incident is the one who is now dead. I don't feel the parent's are legally responsible here, but I would definitely question their judgement on this decision, and on their decision to attend the monster truck rally.

[JohnnyRingo]

15. You have a point...

As a supposed expert he should have foreseen the expected the recoil and climb to the left... exactly where he was standing.

Having said that, what happened to bb guns and single shot rimfire guns for preteens? Maybe they planned to go from there to the 3" magnum 12 gauge street sweeper and see how she did with that.

Bad judgement abounds.

[smiley]

20. exactly

My dad started me out when I was 9 or 10 shooting a BB gun. I didn't fire a real gun until I was 12, when I was legally allowed to hunt and I had to take a hunter safety class first. I remember the first time I felt the recoil of a gun. My shoulder was black and blue for a month. How anyone didn't see this predictable outcome is beyond comprehension.

[Politicalboi]

11. It was on her bucket list

So said one of the owners or employees of the gun range on Chris Hayes show. He actually used that term Bucket list. She's 9.

Now, I don't know if she has a fatal disease.

[davidpdx]

12. I would venture to guess an Uzi would be too much for ME

to handle (and I'm a pretty big guy). Whatever possessed the parents to let allow a very petite 9 year old girl shoot a gun I have no idea.

[PeoViejo]

14. The UZI is not difficult to shoot for an adult

Actually, the recoil is quite mild with generic 9mm ammunition. Using the hotter ammunition designed for submachine guns is more problematic, but not difficult. The weapon is quite heavy, so most of the recoil is absorbed by the bolt and associated parts during firing.
Someone who isn't used to firing a fully automatic weapon would likely panic and get a death-grip on the trigger until the magazine is empty. I suspect that's what happened here.

[ManiacJoe]

18. The mini uzi is difficult for adults, too.

The full-size uzi being bigger and heavier is easier to shoot for both kids and adults.

[PeoViejo]

22. ...

[harun]

21. Agree. Problem not so much an Uzi, problem is with fully automatic.

Have the wrong leverage, balance or technique and you are in trouble.

There is no gun I would shoot on fully automatic mode until I trained with it first firing a shot at a time, then three at a time, etc.

I'm 6'2 and shoot nearly every weekend.

[Tom Ripley]

13. I particularly like the "after riding in a monster truck" detail

I guess Branson just didn't have enough attractions for kids. And Myrtle Beach was too far away.

[JohnnyRingo]

16. Hahaha

"If your town's Chuck E Cheese has a ball pit gunrange... you might be a redneck."

[TeamPooka]

17. The Katniss Effect. nt

[Paladin]

23. The Guns As Toys Effect. (nt)

[Marrah_G]

19. I feel for the girl

Because of the actions of her parents and the instructor she will have to live with the fact that she killed someone for the rest of her life.

[Jeneral2885]

24. Exat what rights

are achieved by letting anyone of any age fire a single weapon? When nine or nineteen or ninety years old, does firing a weapon help protect yourself from a tyrannical government that so far has yet to exist (although some people think Democrats are tyrannical)? What about a nuclear weapon armed government since 1945? How does a nine year old with a Uzi stop a hypothetical "tyrannical government" from nuking you?

[ManiacJoe]

25. You seem confused.

> [Exactly] what rights are achieved by letting anyone of any age fire a single weapon?

No rights are achieved by it. Your 2A rights do get exercised by it. Most folks do it because it is fun, not as some protest against the government.