Posted on 01/07/2011 11:44:15 AM PST by LurkedLongEnough
SPRINGFIELD — — A teenager who supervised an 8-year-old boy who shot himself with an Uzi submachine gun at a 2008 gun fair in Massachusetts said Friday the former police chief charged in the boy's death knew he was going to work on the firing line that day.
Michael Spano testified Friday in the trial of Edward Fleury, whose company co-sponsored the show.
The boy's father, Charles Bizilj, testified in court Thursday that, judging from a flier he read, he believed that the October 2008 Machine Gun Shoot & Firearms Expo would be a safe event for his two young sons.
(Excerpt) Read more at courant.com ...
So sad. Apparently, this has been ongoing in court for quite a while, I see FR posts from last year on it.
Condolences to the family.
I am shocked they allowed an automatic weapon anywhere NEAR MASS.
I am convinced that teaching youngsters about guns is a good thing, having said that, it is obvious that the child was not ready for this. The “Brain-Surgeon” who thought this was a good idea should pay.
Seriously, they should have started the boy with a .22 single shot rifle, (with PLENTY of adult supervision.) The way me and my sons did.
This is crap.
It is very sad - to be sure. But the article says the dead boy’s father settled in a civil action for $700,000.
So why is this now a criminal matter? They are charging one of the sponsors of this gun show. A man who was not there when to boyd died?
If anything, they should charge the dead boy’s father with intense stupidity.
added keyword ‘banglist’
This needs FReeping.
The father lets his kid fire a mini-Uzi and then sues the show when the kid loses control of the gun and shoots himself. The gun show ought to be suing the father. This reminds me of the Remington 700 lawsuit where the mother shot her son and the parents are suing Remington, while it was her unsafe gun handling that killed her son.
The father should be brought up on charges. Period. End of story. I wouldn’t even fire an Uzi much less any kid. Those things are animals to handle.
Posted on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 9:52:11 PM by Bodhi1
Family sues over boy's gun show death [ 8-year-old boy with Uzi submachine gun]
hosted ^ | Nov 9
Posted on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 2:00:13 PM by JoeProBono
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) -- The family of an 8-year-old boy who
I agree with you. If I had been of the jury, he wouldn’t have gotten any money either.
While I’m not a big fan of the police I don’t understand how this ACCIDENT can be blamed on anyone except maybe the kids dad. The truth hurts... I couldn’t even have a bb gun at that age let alone fire a baby uzi. Lots of trouble for the club, the chief and the licensed owners of the weapons, for what?
He shot himself..Educated dad should never have let those kids near guns like those. Sad.
While I’m not a big fan of the police I don’t understand how this ACCIDENT can be blamed on anyone except maybe the kids dad. The truth hurts... I couldn’t even have a bb gun at that age let alone fire a baby uzi. Lots of trouble for the club, the chief and the licensed owners of the weapons, for what?
He shot himself..Educated dad should never have let those kids near guns like those. Sad.
The father is certainly culpable (and entirely undeserving of an award), but I am going to disagree with the idea that the gun show is blameless. Hard to see that they operated in a reasonably prudent manner by allowing an Uzi into the hands of an 8 year old.
Do I need to duck and run for that suggestion?
Putting a fully automatic mini-Uzi into the hands of an 8 year old is the irresponsible thing. The show supported the idea of using the full sized Uzis, but they weren't firing fast enough for Daddy, he wanted to video his sons using a zipper gun.
The show staff shouldn't have granted his request, should have said 'this is the best we'll do, you're welcome to get your own license'. And Dad's place was helping his son, not taping it.
Criminal charges? No, sorry, as sad as events turned out, there was no criminal actions by anyone, even idiot Dad.
The kids dad should be flogged.
But, the person handing the machine gun to the kid is 15. And not a certified trainer.
The whole thing sucks. I used to go to Turkey shoots when I was eight. My dad would let me shoot the shotgun only if he were standing with me, and the entire line was empty. It wasn’t for a couple of years, and a lot of practice under supervision before I was allowed anywhere near another rifle or pistol.
And what really sucks is that I did not know you could go to Westfield and machine gun pumpkins. And now they ruined the fun for everyone.
Stupid father.
The full sized uzi jammed. Or at least that’s what the paper said today. (This is in the town next to me, so it is all over the place.)
Their liability (so far as I can see) is they advertised that they would have certified instructors on the line. The person handing the gun over to the kid was 15. Not that a 15 year old cannot be a responsible handler of guns, but it seems a little odd that we would trust a fifteen year old to give an uzi to an 8 year old.
But, good thing Dad was filming.....
Idiots. All around. They give us a bad name.
Here is a link to the “live trial” page on the local newspaper.
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/trial_of_edward_fleury_for_uzi_1.html
I agree with everything you wrote, until the last sentence.
In my view, a father and some gun show hosts put a child’s life (and the lives of all those around him for that matter) at unreasonable risk, and as a direct result, the child died.
I think who was specifically responsible for what and who did (or failed to do) what, needs to be sorted out, but involuntary manslaughter charges for some or all involved (hosts, father) are appropriate.
Ironically, I think the gun show hosts probably should not have been liable for civil damages (as the father was informed of the risks and assumed them by signing the release) but probably deserve criminal convictions.
I wonder if the epidemic of excessive warnings on labels and waivers (If you read the manual, setting up a new Blu-Ray player seems as life threatening as juggling live hand grenades) contributed to the father not taking the warnings in the release seriously.
While I agree with the sentiment, I personally believe the father has already paid the ultimate price.
I heard someone who has been at the trial speaking this morning and he stated the judge has spent many hours in sidebars with counsel about this video that was played in the courtroom. He has been adamant that the father's reaction at the time of the incident not be played...video or audio. Apparently it is so extreme and anguished that the judge felt it might sway the jury from doing their duty properly.
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