A Totally Avoidable Event

[MalahatTwo7]

That should not have happened, but it did. It even made local radio news yesterday, which is how I first heard about it. :(

Boy, 8, dies after shooting himself with Uzi at gun show

Reuters Published: Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Authorities in Massachusetts are investigating a gun fair where an eight-year-old boy died after accidentally shooting himself in the head with an Uzi submachine gun while under adult supervision, police said yesterday.

Christopher Bizilj lost control of the weapon Sunday at the Machine Gun Shoot & Firearms Expo at a sportsman's club in Westfield, a city about 150 kilometres west of Boston, police said.

He was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Under Massachusetts law, children can legally fire a weapon if they are supervised by a licensed instructor and have consent from a parent or legal guardian, but gun control advocates said the boy should never have been allowed to fire the military-grade weapon.

"An Uzi or AK-47 should never be in the hands of an eight-year-old. It's a weapon of war. It's used on a battlefield by trained soldiers," said Jerry Belair, legislative director for Stop Handgun Violence, a Massachusetts nonprofit.

Westfield Police Lt. Hipolito Nunez said local and state police, the Hampden district attorney and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were investigating the shooting.




© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2008



















well this one should get the gun strategists all wound up in a knot. I won't even ask the "Obvious Question", because its too late for one small boy.

[MalahatTwo7]

DA: Criminal charges possible in boy's Uzi death

By RODRIQUE NGOWI, Associated Press Writer

Tuesday, October 28, 2008 (10-28) 20:00 PDT BOSTON (AP) --

A prosecutor said Tuesday he is investigating whether criminal charges should be filed after an 8-year-old boy accidentally killed himself while firing an Uzi submachine gun at a gun fair in western Massachusetts.

Christopher Bizilj (Bah-SEAL) of Ashford, Conn., shot himself in the head when he lost control of the 9mm micro submachine gun as it recoiled while he was firing at a pumpkin. Police have said the shooting at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club on Sunday was an accident.

Hampden County District Attorney William Bennett said he is investigating whether the gun fair violated the state's firearms law by allowing the boy to fire the machine gun, and also whether it was "a reckless or wanton act to allow an 8-year-old to use a fully loaded automatic weapon."

"At this point in the investigation I have found no lawful authority which allows an 8-year-old to possess or fire a machine gun," Bennett said in a statement.

Daniel Vice, senior attorney with the Washington-based Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said his interpretation is that Massachusetts law specifically prohibits "furnishing a machine gun to any person under 18."

"It is unconscionable that the gun fair allowed and encouraged young children to fire machine guns," he said in a statement.

On Monday, Westfield police Lt. Hipolito Nunez said it is legal in Massachusetts for children to fire a weapon if they have permission from a parent or legal guardian and they are supervised by a properly certified and licensed instructor.

The section of the statute that mentions that exception, however, only lists rifles, shotguns and ammunition — and is silent on the use of machine guns.

Bennett did not return calls Tuesday seeking additional comment.

The boy was attending the gun fair with his father and brother Colin, a sixth-grader. His father, Charles Bizilj, said Christopher had experience firing handguns and rifles, but Sunday was his first time firing an automatic weapon. A certified instructor was with the boy at the time.

On Monday, Bizilj told The Boston Globe he was about 10 feet behind his son and reaching for his camera when the weapon fired. He said his family avoided larger weapons, but he let his son try the Uzi because it's a small weapon with little recoil. The family did not return messages for comment Tuesday. Guess Dad doesn't know much about automatic weapons, eh?

Francis Mitchell, a trustee and longtime member and shooting range officer for the sportsman's club, declined comment Tuesday, saying he was unaware that a criminal investigation was under way.

Edward Fleury, owner of COP Firearms & Training, which co-sponsored the event, did not immediately return a message left after business hours.

The Republican newspaper of Springfield reported Tuesday night that the town of Pelham, where Fleury has been police chief since 1991, took undisclosed administrative action after he discharged a loaded rifle during a gun safety class he was teaching in 2003. No one was injured, and Fleury said in a public apology he would take steps to prevent similar incidents.

Pelham selectman Edward Martin told the newspaper Tuesday the board plans to issue a statement to residents this week pointing out that Fleury was at the gun expo on his own time. Martin called Bizilj's death "a tragic accident."

Fleury's company and the sportsman's club have held the expo since 2002. The newspaper said Fleury described it in a 2005 interview as a safe environment for people "to see and fire some of the guns that they've seen in the movies, or on the History Channel, or other events that involve firearms."
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COMMENT

Most Recommended Comments

captain_hymbad10/27/2008 9:50:31 AM
That's great. Give an eight year old a machine gun play with. Real macho dad.

mgdowning10/27/2008 8:11:02 AM
8-year-old + Uzi=SMART I hope the parent/responsible party is indicted with the heaviest charges possible--something about this has to be illegal. An 8-year-old with an Uzi? A parent/guardian without a brain.

str8nochsr10/27/2008 9:01:52 AM
Why on earth would they allow an 8-year-old to fire a weapon that even adults have problems controlling. If you MUST let a kid shoot, the only thing a kid should shoot is a BB gun, or at most, a gallery rifle .22 in a carnival.

[MalahatTwo7]

Gun club, police chief indicted in boy's Uzi death
By STEPHANIE REITZ, Associated Press Writer

Friday, December 5, 2008 (12-05) 01:30 PST Springfield, Mass. (AP) --

Three men, including a small-town police chief, were indicted Thursday on involuntary manslaughter counts in the gun-fair death of an 8-year-old who accidentally shot himself in the head with an Uzi that a prosecutor said he never should have been allowed to handle.

The club where the fair was held also was charged. The fair had promised shooters would have certified instructors in an advertisement, but District Attorney William Bennett said the child, Christopher Bizilj, was supervised by an uncertified 15-year-old boy.

Christopher, of Ashford, Conn., lost control of the 9mm micro submachine gun as it recoiled while he was firing at a pumpkin Oct. 26 at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club in western Massachusetts.

Pelham Police Chief Edward Fleury was charged because he owns the sponsor of the gun fair, COP Firearms & Training. Two men who brought the automatic weapon to the show, Carl Guiffre of Hartford, Conn., and Domenico Spano, of New Milford, Conn., also were indicted.

An involuntary manslaughter conviction carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence and $1,000 fine. The term could be five years or less for someone with no prior convictions.

Fleury and the club also were indicted on four counts each of furnishing a machine gun to a minor. A conviction on each count is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, up to $10,000 in fines and the loss of a firearms license for at least 10 years.

Bennett said prosecutors know of at least four children, including Christopher, who fired automatic weapons at the fair. He added that Fleury had wrongly assured Guiffre and Spano that it was legal for children to use the Uzi under Massachusetts law.

"A Micro Uzi is made by and for the Israeli Armed Forces and is intended to meet the operational needs of Israeli Special Forces," Bennett said, noting that the weapon has a rate of fire of 20 to 25 rounds per second. "It is not a hunting weapon."

Thomas Drechsler, an attorney for the club, said it continues to extend its "deepest sympathy" to the Bizilj family, but denies any wrongdoing. He said neither the club nor any member gave the Uzi to Christopher or any children, and weren't in the immediate area when the accident happened.

"The club is disappointed by the indictment," he said. "The club's intention is to plead not guilty and the club denies they participated in any criminal act."

Fleury, Guiffre and Spano did not immediately return calls for comment.

The machine gun shoot drew hundreds of people to the sporting club's 375-acre compound. An advertisement said it would include machine gun demonstrations and rentals and free handgun lessons.

"It's all legal & fun — No permits or licenses required!!!!" reads the ad, posted on the club's Web site.

"You will be accompanied to the firing line with a Certified Instructor to guide you. But You Are In Control — "FULL AUTO ROCK & ROLL," the ad said.

The ad also said children under 16 would be admitted free, and both adults and children were offered free .22-caliber pistol and rifle shooting.

Christopher's father was 10 feet behind him and reaching for his camera when the child fired the weapon.

Bennett said Charles Bizilj (pronounced bah-SEAL') had selected the compact weapon for his 4-foot-3, 66-pound son to fire after he was assured it was safe. He had thought the Uzi's small size made it safer, but the opposite was true, the prosecutor said.

"Although it might appear a heavier or longer weapon would be more dangerous, the small size of the weapon together with the rapid rate of fire made it more likely that an 8-year-old would lose control and the muzzle of the weapon would come close to his face, which is what happened here," he said.

The father was not charged because he was a layman and based his decision on information from others who should have known it was too dangerous, Bennett said. The 15-year-old boy who was supervising Christopher with the Uzi also will not be charged, he added.

Christopher's family did not immediately return a call seeking comment. His father has said his son had experience firing handguns and rifles but the gun show was his first time with an automatic weapon.

Fleury, the police chief, has been on sick leave since the boy's death, according to Kim Leahey, administrative aide for the Pelham Board of Selectmen. Leahey said the board would have no statement on the indictment until it consults its attorneys.

Fleury is one of two full time officers in Pelham. In a statement issued shortly after the accident, the board said Fleury's company was a "purely personal pursuit" and not subject to their approval.

[doughesson]

Mr.District Attorney,the Second Amendment AIN'T about duck hunting.It is about the Rights of free people to be on an equal footing with the government.
Maybe you don't want any fully automatic firearms,others do.I just don't want to pay a firearms tax annually or undergo the 6 month FBI background check where they ask even the second girl you ever kissed what kind of person you are.IOW,better be nice to your first girlfriend's best friend.Both relationships are gonna crater when they find out and later on WILL use it against you.

Gun club, police chief indicted in boy's Uzi death
By STEPHANIE REITZ, Associated Press Writer

Friday, December 5, 2008 (12-05) 01:30 PST Springfield, Mass. (AP) --

but District Attorney William Bennett said......
Bennett said prosecutors know of at least four children, including Christopher, who fired automatic weapons at the fair. He added that Fleury had wrongly assured Guiffre and Spano that it was legal for children to use the Uzi under Massachusetts law.

"A Micro Uzi is made by and for the Israeli Armed Forces and is intended to meet the operational needs of Israeli Special Forces," Bennett said, noting that the weapon has a rate of fire of 20 to 25 rounds per second. "It is not a hunting weapon."

[ThNozzleman]

Maybe you don't want any fully automatic firearms,others do.I just don't want to pay a firearms tax annually or undergo the 6 month FBI background check where they ask even the second girl you ever kissed what kind of person you are.
Maybe the six month background check would have revealed what ****ing idiots they were. :rolleyes:

Another child dead because of gun-lovin' *******s.

[ScareCrow57]

Maybe the six month background check would have revealed what ****ing idiots they were. :rolleyes:

Another child dead because of gun-lovin' *******s.

Spoken like a true communist.

[johnny46]

Maybe the six month background check would have revealed what ****ing idiots they were. :rolleyes:

Another child dead because of gun-lovin' *******s.
See, I don't think it was love. This was lust. Real love is deep and abiding. You don't rent something you love--this was prostitution.

[Dickey]

See, I don't think it was love. This was lust. Real love is deep and abiding. You don't rent something you love--this was prostitution.

OMG!

I laughed so hard I think a little pee came out!

[MalahatTwo7]

Spoken like a true communist.

Now that statement can not for any reason be true. Communists own and use frearms too. And NO WHERE in the article did it mention politics. Only POLICY (read CIVIC LAW).

[DaSharkie]

Now that statement can not for any reason be true. Communists own and use frearms too. And NO WHERE in the article did it mention politics. Only POLICY (read CIVIC LAW).

However this is the People's Republik of Taxachusetts we are discussing. The moronic buffoons that compose this state's elected officials are not far off from Comunists/Socialists - which explains the horrific financial states of affairs my current "Commonwealth" is in, and the utter corrpution that exists in our state.

Remember that Communists own and use firearms too - but to control their population a-la Lenin, Stalin, Castro, Il, Eastern Europe 20 years ago. One must eliminat any and all chance for a citizenry to resist its government if you wish to stay in charge.



And I ask Noz, should you wish to limit firearms ownershiop - as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United Staets of America - what constitutional rights are you willing to give up since you apparently so eagerly wish to restrict others'?

I eagerly await your typical non-reply.

[BryanLoader]

Mr.District Attorney,the Second Amendment AIN'T about duck hunting.It is about the Rights of free people to be on an equal footing with the government.
Maybe you don't want any fully automatic firearms,others do.I just don't want to pay a firearms tax annually or undergo the 6 month FBI background check where they ask even the second girl you ever kissed what kind of person you are.IOW,better be nice to your first girlfriend's best friend.Both relationships are gonna crater when they find out and later on WILL use it against you.
Doug
I don't think the DA was talking about limiting gun ownership or background checks or any other type of gun control. IMHO, Anybody involved in this incident should be charged at the least with criminal negligence causing death if you have such a law, and the gunshow operators should be sued into penury. Maybe there needs to be licensing and background checks to become a parent, rather than owning a gun.

[ScareCrow57]

Doug
I don't think the DA was talking about limiting gun ownership or background checks or any other type of gun control. IMHO, Anybody involved in this incident should be charged at the least with criminal negligence causing death if you have such a law, and the gunshow operators should be sued into penury. Maybe there needs to be licensing and background checks to become a parent, rather than owning a gun.

Isn't that the truth!!! I've seen many a bad parent all strung out on coke or soemthing while their 3 year old wanders aimlessly around the streets of the city. Heck, I've seen it happen when they weren't strung out too.

Nothing I love more than to be standing in the store or mall and have some strang kid tug on my leg and call me dad. :eek: