Nine year-old girl kills shooting instructor - MERGE

[moodygirl86]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news ... ng-4113086

I've been around long enough not to be shocked by these stories of children and guns, but nine years of age? What the fuck were her parents thinking? RIP to Charles Vacca. And best thoughts to this poor kid who's going to be reliving this for ages.

[Marianne]

AN AUTOMATIC UZI ?

Seriously, the instructor was stupid or... ? an FUCKING uzi for a 9 years old ? Oh god, I can't cry for him. I feel for the poor little girl who will have to carry guilt, but not the instructor. WHO give an automatic uzi to a child ?

[Grimalkin]

I think the instructor and parents are to blame. This poor kids life is changed forever.

[utter solitude]

I clicked the link expecting it to be a handgun or shotgun, and was prepared to offer an opinion on making children comfortable with guns.

But an Uzi? No. Just no. That is ridiculous, you do not hand a nine year old a machine gun.

[moodygirl86]

WHO give an automatic uzi to a child ?

Moronic parents, that's who! I hope this girl's getting counselling of some kind, or at least getting plenty of reassurance that she's not to blame.

[Toothfairy]

Nine year olds shouldn't even be shooting guns unless they learn the true meaning of gun safety. Guns aren't toys

[moodygirl86]

And she's from New Jersey! Isn't that quite a densely populated, more metropolitan area of the US (near NYC etc)? Admittedly I don't know much about the geography of America, but I can't imagine her needing to learn to shoot, for hunting or whatever.*

NB: I'm not American, so let me know if I'm wrong.

[medievalist1980]

9 yr old kills instructor with uzi at gun range in AZ.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/26/us/arizon ... ?hpt=hp_t1

[jerkit]

The kid in the picture is wearing shorts so no way in hell it's zsu's kid.

[Loveday]

Until I saw the picture of the girl in shorts earlier on my FB newsfeed, I kept wondering the same thing! I even came here a few times just to see if someone had posted about it. :lol:

[Coco]

She couldn't handle the recoil, he was right beside her, and a bullet hit him in the head.

Dear Lord in heaven, she's going to need some therapy.

[Justme]

The child and family are from NJ.

[Maggie Mae]

Here is another story, with a video. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/28/us/ar ... .html?_r=0

She couldn't handle the recoil.

[RosyDaisy]

I have no words.

[moodygirl86]

Piers Morgan makes a good point here: https://twitter.com/piersmorgan/status/ ... 6277478400

[happy atheist]

Burgers and Bullets? Seriously?

As to the question above about New Jersey - parts of it are quite urban and densely populated, but there are more rural areas. I imagine that there is deer hunting. Which, of course, one does with an Uzi.

[Mela99]

Dude, I have a few military buddies who struggle with the Uzi... the recoil is like ten mule kicks. Who the HELL gave it to a SMALL CHILD?

I'm sorry, but if this "instructor" was that much of an IDIOT it's his own damned fault.

And Piers Morgan, whom normally annoys the piss out of me, is spot on. #bringmemykindereggs

[utter solitude]

I have to wonder how easy it is to become a firearm instructor in Arizona.

Every firearms instructor I've every come across (at least in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Georgia) have stressed safety safety SAFETY. None would DREAM of putting a fucking UZI in the hands of a nine year old. You do not give a gun to someone who can't handle it!

I was sixteen years old the first time I shot a shotgun... It made the instructor so nervous he stood behind me and had his hands over my hands as I did so, both to show me how to handle it, as well as to protect me from the recoil (more out of concern for my skinny shoulders, but my point remains). He certainly didn't stand NEXT to me.

The blame, for me, is with the instructor. I hope this poor girl one day realizes this tragedy was NOT her fault.

Where were her parents in this?

[moodygirl86]

Burgers and Bullets? Seriously?

As to the question above about New Jersey - parts of it are quite urban and densely populated, but there are more rural areas. I imagine that there is deer hunting. Which, of course, one does with an Uzi.

Oh OK, thanks for the info.

And yeah, Burgers and Bullets. It sounds surreal, and it's only stories like this that make you realise that places like that do exist.

Just a horrible, tragic situation in general.

[happy atheist]

Where were her parents in this?

Standing behind her, filming it. Duh.

But seriously, the news article linked above shows the lead-up to the accident. It does not show the actual accident.

[moodygirl86]

Standing behind her, filming it..

Not to get into who should or shouldn't be allowed to breed, but it does feel unfair reading stories like this, that someone like my mum's best friend from schooldays had countless fertility problems/a miscarriage etc when she's a wonderful mum (she's got two lovely little girls now), and yet irresponsible people like this don't seem to appreciate the daughter they've got enough to protect her from dangerous weapons and the trauma of knowing she accidentally killed someone. My niece is the same age as this little girl, and although she's very grown-up and sensible for her age - you just. Wouldn't. Give. Her. A. Gun. It's common sense, particularly since popular opinion informs me that even adults struggle with Uzis. What chance does a skinny pre-pubescent child have?

Something tells me this shooting lesson wasn't the girl's idea.

[utter solitude]

But seriously, the news article linked above shows the lead-up to the accident. It does not show the actual accident.

I missed that link, thanks for drawing my attention to it.

This is a terrible instructor. You do not allow a nine year old to shoot a machine gun. You do not put it into "fully automatic" after they have shot ONE round in a single shot mode. You do not stand NEXT to someone you are training to shoot a gun with such a recoil, you stand BEHIND them, generally with your hands on their hands, for the purpose of preventing exactly what happened.

[RosyDaisy]

My uncle who has served in 2 wars flat out said....any SOB that gives an uzi to a kid deserved what what he got, and that uzis and assault rifles have no place except the military." And he is a rapid supporter of the 2nd Ammendment.

[Anny Nym]

Whenever I hear or read one of those lines in the news panorama about little children accidentally killing siblings, parents, etc. with guns, not by coincidence, but because they were given a firearm on purpose, then I just can´t feel sorry for anyone else than the child .

For the rest, it´s just Darwin´s Law at work. Raw and honest.

The cynic in me thinks maybe you really should give all that nutcases who write children´s books about open carrying or proudly post photos of themselves with loaded assault rifles while shopping at a Walmart what they are asking for: Guns for everyone, a sparkly blue or glitzy pink gun with every Happy Meal, rifle give-aways at the church Bingo Night and at the county fair... In the next 10-20 years then, the problem will solve itself all naturally.

[ILoveJellybeans]

Well done gun nuts, another child who will now have to live with the fact that she killed somebody. There is way too many cases of this happening, once would be bad enough, but there are loads of stories of kids accidentally shooting people.

Why would anyone give a child a gun that powerful? Why does anyone even need one anyway, they are designed to shoot loads of times in a row, but unless you are serving in the army and actively in a war zone, there is no need to have one. They would be overkill for hunting and for self defence. I think its just a status symbol for people who need another way to feel powerful.