Officials: Girl accidentally kills gun instructor
Source: AP
A 9-year-old girl accidentally killed an Arizona shooting instructor as he was showing her how to use an automatic Uzi, authorities said Tuesday.
Charles Vacca, 39, of Lake Havasu City, died Monday shortly after being airlifted to University Medical Center in Las Vegas, Mohave County sheriff's officials said.
Vacca was standing next to the girl at the Last Stop outdoor shooting range in White Hills when she pulled the trigger and the recoil sent the gun over her head, investigators said.
Authorities said the girl was at the shooting range with her parents. Her name was not released.
Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/instructor-accidentally-shot-girl-9-dies-184354750.html
What could ever go wrong letting a 9 year old shoot an Uzi on full auto?
Guess the instructor died doing what he loved to do.
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)Putting a gun like that in the hands of a nine year old? Darwin Award.
still_one
(92,060 posts)1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)Why would any responsible parent set their child up to carry that burden with them into life?
yurbud
(39,405 posts)bigworld
(1,807 posts)as well they should be.
Adrahil
(13,340 posts)Fred Drum
(293 posts)i would be suing the range and the instructor
yeah, i'd sue a dead man
MosheFeingold
(3,051 posts)I was a police officer before I was a lawyer. I took guns home --- pistols, rifle, and shotgun on a regular basis.
Because I had weapons in my house as part of my job (we could not leave in the car, per company policy), I trained my little children (7) with the use of a single-shot "cricket" .22 to remove the mystery of firearms and taught them weapons safety.
Yes, we went to the range several times.
A lot of people are in that situation. For example, there are a lot of ranching and farm people that utilize weapons on a regular basis, as well. (The AR-15, for example, started out as a "ranch rifle" and then idiots got ahold of it.) Their kids need training.
Probably the only good thing the NRA does is children's weapons safety training.
wordpix
(18,652 posts)Sam Scarmardo, who operates the shooting range, said Wednesday that the girl's parents had signed waivers saying they understood the rules and were standing nearby, video-recording their daughter
"Where would you make the break point? Where would you make the determination if the children want to come out here and have a birthday party?" he asked.
"We're very strict on all our rules and regulations. We dont tolerate even minor violations of our rules and regulations."
"I wasnt there at the time, I cant point a finger at anybody. But unfortunately, an industrial accident is what's happened here,"
"We've never even handed out a Band-Aid."
Scarmardo said his policy of allowing children 8 and older to fire guns under adult supervision and the watchful eye of an instructor is standard practice in the industry.
Orrex
(63,169 posts)bvf
(6,604 posts)Maybe her parents can help her deal with this as she grows up, but I really doubt it. They're directly responsible, in the end.
What fools.
samsingh
(17,590 posts)CreekDog
(46,192 posts)I'd like to believe that.
But I have my doubts whether parents that think it's appropriate to let a 9 year old fire an "Uzi" on full auto mode will be open to counseling or therapy.
indie9197
(509 posts)by at least two people, her father and instructor, and she is lucky she didn't shoot herself. And hopefully her father doesn't try to put her back on the range again.
Lancero
(3,002 posts)Article says parents, not parent.
indie9197
(509 posts)I have a few guns, it is not a defining part of my life. I just think it is sick to force your gun loving politics on your kids. That is my definition of a gun nut.
itsrobert
(14,157 posts)Response to itsrobert (Reply #3)
Orrex This message was self-deleted by its author.
Skittles
(153,104 posts)ZombieHorde
(29,047 posts)AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)(American weapon from WWII; the Browning Automatic Rifle, for those that don't know)
Edit: OH, you weren't kidding. There actually is a positive one in there. I thought you were being sarcastic about the 'we should see other men' recurring joke.
Response to AtheistCrusader (Reply #42)
ZombieHorde This message was self-deleted by its author.
Response to AtheistCrusader (Reply #42)
ZombieHorde This message was self-deleted by its author.
Response to AtheistCrusader (Reply #42)
ZombieHorde This message was self-deleted by its author.
ZombieHorde
(29,047 posts)It was nice to see amongst the other posts.
tclambert
(11,084 posts)ZombieHorde
(29,047 posts)I guess I will self delete the dupes.
lunasun
(21,646 posts)LibDemAlways
(15,139 posts)after checking out his Facebook, i don't feel all that bad that there is one less gun loving moron walking the planet.
samsingh
(17,590 posts)John1956PA
(2,654 posts)The instructor was Charles Vacca of Lake Havasu City. Here is his Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/charles.vacca
One of his posted images shows a woman spattered in blood. The quote on the image reads, "Don't worry honey. I just made sure that ***** would never say 'Hi' to you again."
Another posted image makes an unflattering suggestion about men who drive Ford vehicles.
Reter
(2,188 posts)n/t
Skittles
(153,104 posts)lunasun
(21,646 posts)lapfog_1
(29,189 posts)there is video...
unfortunately the "instructor" was a father... so those genes will find their way into another generation.
Posted on his facebook:
"I told her that guns make me uncomfortable, she said that we should both see other men."
plus many many other ironic and stupid posts.
Ilsa
(61,690 posts)Fire arms training/shooting ranges/target practice fields, etc. A few years ago, a middle schooler was at a shooting range with his friend and he accidentally shot himself. His friend wasn't injured, but is scarred with the experience of holding his best friend as he lay bleeding to death.
Parents can claim they've done a good job training their kids on gun safety all they want. With kids, judgment isn't solid. They make mistakes. And someone dies.
Zorro
(15,722 posts)drray23
(7,615 posts)Some adults there were completely irresponsible. How can anybody think its ok to put an UZI into the hands of a 9 yr old - or any gun for that matter -
America's infatuation with guns has gone too far.
lancer78
(1,495 posts)for letting a 9 y/o handle a full auto uzi, I was trained to use a 22 rifle by age 10. I earned 50 cents for each gopher I killed on my grandparents farm so the cows didn't step in gopher holes and break their legs. Guns DO serve a legit purpose sometimes.
LeftyMom
(49,212 posts)Specifically a really basic .22 rifle and handgun. Can't remember if I learned to use a shotgun then or a little later? I know my Dad was a bit concerned that I couldn't handle the kick? A year or two later I think- I was a really tiny kid.
Of course by then I'd been drilled for years on safety rules- one of my earliest memories is standing around in the back yard with my dad using a cap gun to illustrate all of the rules. I think I was the only kid who had a cap gun they weren't allowed to point at anybody.
A well-trained child of that age can certainly use a gun safely with supervision, but it has to be something on the underpowered side. Depends on the kid though. My thirteen year old only recently got a little airsoft gun, and that's going to be it for a good long while because he's not the world's best at listening to instructions and showing good sense.
Adrahil
(13,340 posts)At 9 I could shoot a .22. It was a single shot bolt action rifle. At 12, I was shooting a semi-auto .22 and I got to fire, under controlled conditions, a 9mm handgun, and an AR-15 (semi-autos). I wasn't a hunter, so I didn't even fire a shotgun until I was 17 (my girlfriend's dad was a competitive skeet shooter).
JoeyT
(6,785 posts)time to start teaching them to handle them safely. Handing a fully automatic weapon, or even any 9mm to a 9 year old is fucking insane, though.
I think at that age I *might* have been allowed to shoot a .22 that had been bolted to the table so I couldn't do anything stupid with it.
barbtries
(28,756 posts)guns suck. there are better ways to spend one's time. so many better ways.
TBF
(32,000 posts)with parental supervision. It was a rural area so really pretty safe all things considered. No way my dad would've let us handle his shotguns much less that kind of weapon.
aggiesal
(8,907 posts)when you can use real bullets and actually kill someone?
This is really stupid.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)bvf
(6,604 posts)I like gallows humor as much as anyone, but that kid is going to have one hard time growing up with this.
As for the parents putting her into this situation to begin with, my only thought is child abuse.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)It all depends on how it is handled.
But that comment was not remotely intended as "funny"
Those parents are assholes for setting up this tragedy in the first place.
bvf
(6,604 posts)She'll remember, all right. Even if the memory is pushed back, i'm sure it will manifest itself as she grows up..
Short of her parents outright lying to her about what happened, this child will grow up knowing she did something horrible.
I agree 100% with everything else you said.
Again, apologies for misinterpreting your initial comment.
Response to jberryhill (Reply #23)
bvf This message was self-deleted by its author.
Chemisse
(30,802 posts)Lifelong trauma will surely beat out the other kids' vacation fun times.
The poor kid.
NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)It's one thing, though I don't support it, for there to exist a shooting range where a qualified adult can fire a machine gun.
Again, I don't support it.
And it's entirely another for there to be a place where it's OK to allow a child to hold and fire such a thing.
No amount of training and supervision should excuse that, and there's absolutely not Second Amendment justification for allowing it.
And, BTW, glad you're on the host waiting list.
Jeneral2885
(1,354 posts)maybe she's home-schooled.
George II
(67,782 posts)tclambert
(11,084 posts)Jeneral2885
(1,354 posts)decided playing house/doll is too boring
George II
(67,782 posts)Jeneral2885
(1,354 posts)or either that, they'll brainwash her saying it's not her fault.
George II
(67,782 posts)....for someone who is training a 9-year old to use an Uzi.
drm604
(16,230 posts)Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)It is a Banquet Program for kids that has death on the menu:
http://www.crickett.com/crickett_banquet.php
They got pink rifles for the girls and manly black ones for the boys.
http://www.crickett.com/pdf/banquetform.pdf
$400.
Hollow point ammo and life insurance extra.
glinda
(14,807 posts)TBF
(32,000 posts)that's what the rest of us are switching our kids to.
wordpix
(18,652 posts)I like sports but sometimes that is out of hand, too
TBF
(32,000 posts)when we have so many obese kids. I'd be in favor of free (tax subsidized - federal level) school lunch for all, with plenty of vegetables, along with more time for running around. You won't hear me arguing against the arts either.
tclambert
(11,084 posts)You had to wait a few years for anything bigger.
Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)At any age.
tclambert
(11,084 posts)Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)corksean
(475 posts)MrModerate
(9,753 posts)To be able to handle her weapons.
Any chance the instructor hadn't reproduced yet so that evolution could do its job?
erpowers
(9,350 posts)According to a post someon made earlier he did have at least one kid.
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)shireen
(8,333 posts)Poor kid must be so traumatized. This will affect her for the rest of her life.
Ash_F
(5,861 posts)Those guns were not designed with target shooting in mind. They were designed for compactness for tank drivers to use in an emergency(tanks are cramped).
chrisa
(4,524 posts)Other kids have killed themselves instead by accident from these gun instructors handing them Uzis. Kids should not be shooting guns, period, let alone automatic ones.
rickyhall
(4,889 posts)jmowreader
(50,528 posts)Second Amendment hypocrisy in action: The Second Amendment Defender Battalion loves to flip over like a 200-pound Tennessee Fainting Goat if you so much as mention the phrase "gun control," but most of them seem to have no problem with the National Firearms Act.
mwrguy
(3,245 posts)Visit any gun site.
Xithras
(16,191 posts)You have to pay taxes to get an NFA stamp, be over 21 years old, pass rigorous background checks, get signoff from your local police chief or sheriff, and agree to abide by all sorts of special rules and regulations after you get it (storage requirements, heavy restrictions on transporting it, prohibitions on loaning it, etc.). You can only sell or transfer it through a Class 3 licensed dealer (even if you're just giving it to someone for safekeeping for a while). Even with all of that, you aren't allowed to own any fully automatic weapons built after 1986.
Once you get your stamp, you have to find one for sale. With the prohibitions on new automatic weapons, the stock of available fully automatic weapons gets smaller every year as old firearms wear out. UZI's are selling for $8000-$9000 nowadays.
It's still theoretically possible for people to obtain a fully automatic weapon, but most people can't jump through all of the hoops...and don't have the money...to actually go out and buy one.
My dad is a collector (mostly WWI and interwar rifles) and has a number of Class 3 weapons. He's said that he's leaving them to me someday (and considering his age, someday is probably sooner than I'd like), but I'll probably sell most of them simply because owning one isn't worth the hassle (though there may be one or two that I simply disable and keep because they're historical pieces).
MosheFeingold
(3,051 posts)You can buy anything you want, just pay $400 and wait about 11 months.
El Shaman
(583 posts)almost seems appropriate .
Kablooie
(18,605 posts)You see the gun jerk out of her hand and it cuts.
Poor girl.
She obviously wasn't strong enough to keep control of the gun.
Helen Borg
(3,963 posts)For weapon accidents, you will find a ton of clips where adult men and women get hit in their face due to recoil...
ZombieHorde
(29,047 posts)SheilaT
(23,156 posts)I sincerely wish that all such would eventually kill each other off.
bvf
(6,604 posts)by indoctrinating their kids.
As I've said elsewhere, bringing your kids into the gun culture is nothing short of child abuse.
I agree with your sentiment as far as adults go. It just breaks my heart to see a nine-year-old kid in the middle of all this.
samsingh
(17,590 posts)with their proliferation of guns because they are protecting us against tyranny.
pure fantasy thinking
Recursion
(56,582 posts)A submachinegun is absolutely not appropriate for a kid, and this is the second fatal "accident" (I hesitate to call it that, given the grievously poor judgement involved) in I think 3 years.
If a 9-year-old, properly supervised, wants to fire a rimfire low-caliber rifle or carbine, that's great. But gun ranges need to stop treating automatic weapons like toys. There's a reason they are so tightly regulated.
ET Awful
(24,753 posts)8 year old in MA was shooting a micro-uzi on full auto at a range and killed himself accidentally.
Here's a tip - if you want to teach kids gun safety, great, do so. . . there is nothing remotely safe about giving them a fully automatic weapon.
ninjanurse
(93 posts)What outraged me is that the jury found no wrongdoing. I always wondered what that boy's mother thought of her husband putting him in such danger.
And this recent story shows that the gun lovers have no remorse over the death of that boy, and are still putting children into war conditions. It's lucky it wasn't the little girl who was killed.
Fortinbras Armstrong
(4,473 posts)It's almost uncontrollable, unless you have the strength of Hercules. I'd rather have a pistol in any situation where they might have issued me an Uzi. (When I was in Infantry Officer Candidate School, they had us familiarize ourselves with all sorts of weapons.)
ET Awful
(24,753 posts)The closest I've fired to an Uzi would be a Mac-10 or an M3 (Grease Gun).
Pointless weapons in anything other than an extremely tight environment. Even then, I'd much rather have the control of a pistol.
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)Why is there not a law against this?
Paladin
(28,243 posts)This kind of shit is going to keep happening, over and over and over, until responsible citizens wrest power from the NRA and its followers.
Aristus
(66,275 posts)What could possibly go wrong?"
tclambert
(11,084 posts)"Hey! I'm gonna give this bucket of sulfuric acid to a 9 year-old girl!"
"Then I'm gonna let her drive home! In my Humvee!"
Aristus
(66,275 posts)Is this at the chainsaw proficiency range?
Is it a safety course for training your child to handle dangerous solvents?
I didn't realize that chainsaws had such a powerful, vocal, and irresponsible advocacy group.
I didn't know there were sulfuric acid shops in every neighborhood.
tclambert
(11,084 posts)My point is if you wouldn't hand a nine year-old a running chainsaw, why in the world would you think it's safe to do so with a loaded Uzi?
Now that you mention it, the National Chainsaw Association should sponsor chainsaw proficiency ranges.
Aristus
(66,275 posts)I'm sorry.
I thought this was one of those "Well, cars kill people, too! Let's just ban cars while we're at it!..." posts.
I understand now...
tclambert
(11,084 posts)Far more often I see people arguing vehemently about a subject they both actually agree on completely. After a few posts, all the rest seem to start with, "No, what you said was . . ."
Aristus
(66,275 posts)n/t
Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)No way, no how should the media or officials report this with the girl in position of responsibility, even if by accident. She's going to have enough trouble getting past this without the careless rhetoric.
I'm betting that even the deceased gun instructor would agree.
Sparhawk60
(359 posts)The girl is in no way at fault for what happened. Unlike the movies, a grown man lacks the physical strength to control more than a 3 round burst. Allowing a 9 year old to fire an Uzi on full auto is unbelievably stupid.
samsingh
(17,590 posts)there will be more stuff like this in the heart of the gun supporters environments.
guns are dangerous and their proliferation increases this danger. no amount of training or controls will stop accidents like this from happening.
Sancho
(9,067 posts)This is my generic response to gun threads where people are shot and killed by the dumb or criminal possession of guns. For the record, I grew up in the South and on military bases. I was taught about firearms as a child, and I grew up hunting, was a member of the NRA, and I still own guns. In the 70s, I dropped out of the NRA because they become more radical and less interested in safety and training. Some personal experiences where people I know were involved in shootings caused me to realize that anyone could obtain and posses a gun no matter how illogical it was for them to have a gun. Also, easy access to more powerful guns, guns in the hands of children, and guns that werent secured are out of control in our society. As such, heres what I now think ought to be the requirements to possess a gun. Im not debating the legal language, I just think its the reasonable way to stop the shootings. Notice, none of this restricts the type of guns sold. This is aimed at the people who shoot others, because its clear that they should never have had a gun.
1.) Anyone in possession of a gun (whether they own it or not) should have a regularly renewed license. If you want to call it a permit, certificate, or something else that's fine.
2.) To get a license, you should have a background check, and be examined by a professional for emotional and mental stability appropriate for gun possession. It might be appropriate to require that examination to be accompanied by references from family, friends, employers, etc. This check is not to subject you to a mental health diagnosis, just check on your superficial and apparent gun-worthyness.
3.) To get the license, you should be required to take a safety course and pass a test appropriate to the type of gun you want to use.
4.) To get a license, you should be over 21. Under 21, you could only use a gun under direct supervision of a licensed person and after obtaining a learners license. Your license might be restricted if you have children or criminals or other unsafe people living in your home. (If you want to argue 18 or 25 or some other age, fine. 21 makes sense to me.)
5.) If you possess a gun, you would have to carry a liability insurance policy specifically for gun ownership - and likely you would have to provide proof of appropriate storage, security, and whatever statistical reasons that emerge that would drive the costs and ability to get insurance.
6.) You could not purchase a gun or ammunition without a license, and purchases would have a waiting period.
7.) If you possess a gun without a license, you go to jail, the gun is impounded, and a judge will have to let you go (just like a DUI).
8.) No one should carry an unsecured gun (except in a locked case, unloaded) when outside of home. Guns should be secure when transporting to a shooting event without demonstrating a special need. Their license should indicate training and special circumstances beyond recreational shooting (security guard, etc.).
9.) If you buy, sell, give away, or inherit a gun, your license information should be recorded.
10.) If you accidentally discharge your gun, commit a crime, get referred by a mental health professional, are served a restraining order, etc., you should lose your license and guns until reinstated by a serious relicensing process.
Most of you know that a license is no big deal. Besides a drivers license you need a license to fish, rent scuba equipment, operate a boat, or many other activities. I realize these differ by state, but that is not a reason to let anyone without a bit of sense pack a semiautomatic weapon in public, on the roads, and in schools. I think we need to make it much harder for some people to have guns.
TBF
(32,000 posts)erpowers
(9,350 posts)I know why these parents wanted their daughter to learn how to shoot an Uzi. However, I think it was and is a bad idea to try to teach a 9 year old how to shoot an Uzi.
El Supremo
(20,365 posts)It stops right before the blood.
Why? Why would you let a 9 year old fire an Uzi? Somebody is very deranged.
BlueInPhilly
(870 posts)Legal age limits in PA and probably most other states:
Vote = 21 years
Buy alcohol = 21 years
Buy tobacco = 18 years
Drive = 16 years
Qualify for own credit card = 21 years
Handle an Uzi: None
Oh the irony.
PaddyIrishman
(110 posts)This is a parody, but just barely
[link:http://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2014/08/27/nra-calls-for-tougher-gun-instructors/|
http://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2014/08/27/nra-calls-for-tougher-gun-instructors/
THE National Rifle Association of America has called on US shooting ranges to employ tougher gun instructors to deal with inexperienced children wishing to use military weapons, it has been revealed today.
XemaSab
(60,212 posts)she didn't shoot herself.
underpants
(182,585 posts)hollowdweller
(4,229 posts)I guess it was for the guy letting a 9 year old kid shoot a machine gun.
ManiacJoe
(10,136 posts)The "mini" uzi is very small and hard to hold on to.
If the girl had been given a full-size uzi, she would probably have been fine.
Paladin
(28,243 posts)By law, that girl has to wear a seat belt every time she's transported in a car. But when it comes to handling machine guns....nothing. The instructor is dead, that girl's life is forever traumatized. If only that fucking Uzi had been a little bigger, everything would be just hunky-dory, you think.
Jeez, do you Gun Enthusiasts ever give a thought to the sort of world you've created?
El Supremo
(20,365 posts)ManiacJoe
(10,136 posts)Just to bring you up to speed, the full-size uzi is a lot bigger than the mini model. If things had been done well, the girl would have had a good time and great memories. Unfortunately, adults do not always think things through.
Paladin
(28,243 posts)I see where an NRA womens' group came out with a "fun for kids at the gun range" tweet, and then withdrew it. About par for the course. Like I said, it's your world, the rest of us have to live in it.
ManiacJoe
(10,136 posts)If you were attempting to make a point, you failed to do so, which is rather unlike you.
ProudToBeBlueInRhody
(16,399 posts)Man you guys just love showing how much you know, don'tcha?
ManiacJoe
(10,136 posts)ProudToBeBlueInRhody
(16,399 posts)....on how to jerk off with a gun, you're the guy to call.
ManiacJoe
(10,136 posts)There ends your fist lesson.
samsingh
(17,590 posts)defended his beloved guns and called anyone mourning the his death a wimp and unpatriotic.
samsingh
(17,590 posts)LloydS of New London
(355 posts)Yeah, I said that! WTF was this goddam fool Vacca thinking?