Posted on 08/30/2014 8:39:47 AM PDT by Citizen Zed
The family of an Arizona shooting range instructor accidentally killed by a 9-year-old girl while he was teaching her to use an Uzi said they feel sorry for the child.
His daughter, 19-year-old Ashley, told NBC's "Today" show that the family knows it was a "tragic accident" and something she'll have to live with.
She said she planned to write a letter to the girl's family. "Our thoughts and our prayers are with them. We don't want their life to revolve around this," she said.
"My heart goes out to the little girl and I feel sorry for her and for her family," said Vacca's ex-wife, Anamarie.
Prosecutors say they will not file charges.
Clark County Coroner Mike Murphy told The Associated Press that it will take several weeks for blood-toxicology test results to be complete, and authorities were still investigating the shooting. The coroner said that an official cause of death was pending.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
I'm not so sure.Unless allowing her to be instructed in that way was a violation of a state or Federal law...or unless one of the parents was a firearms expert who had every reason to believe that something like that would happen...I don't think they should be charged.The instructor was supposed to be the expert.It appears as if they relied on his knowledge in allowing her to handle the weapon.
Were the parents stupid? Very possibly.Are they criminals? I don't think so.
Of course that is BS. Such a high profile test could be easily be moved to the head of the line and completed in the same day.
I don’t know. Makes you wonder doesn’t it? That video played for me automatically at a site. I forget which one. It plays up till he gets shot.
The “gun Range” is actually a Bar/tourist trap on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere between Vegas and Kingman Az.
http://arizonalaststop.com/
Lots of pics and they still advertise “shoot a machine gun” on the front page
If they wanted to have the girl shoot a "machine" gun they should have given her an AR. It has a lot longer barrel and wouldn't have gotten away from her when she pulled the trigger. It would have climbed on her BUT straight up. The very short barreled UZI "whipped" up and back on her. She is lucky she didn't shoot herself TOO.
I’ve read multiple threads on FR about this tragedy. As a class III Uzi owner and father of two daughters that have fired full auto Uzi’s at this same age, I must break my silence. This was not an Uzi which weighs 8 pounds empty, fires from the open bolt and has a rate of fire of approx 600 rounds per minute, but from the wire stock visible in the video it appears to be a Mini-Uzi weighing just under 6 pounds with a 950 rds per min rate of fire. I would never allow my daughters to fire such a weapon full auto with more than 3 rounds in the mag. But a full size, slower rate of fire UZI is perfectly controllable by anyone able to shoulder the firearm. Freepers are correct that this tragedy could have been averted with common sense that this was too much gun for this child and mistakes were made on the firing line, but get the facts right. This was not an UZI but a lighter, hotter MINI-UZI. BTW, the Micro-Uzi weighs 3.3 pounds with a 1250 rd per min rate of fire... I won’t even fire that full auto.
This is tragic for all but the instructor died of stupidity. What a shame.
When I was in Marine boot camp, extraordinary precautions were taken to train us on how to operate an M-16 and we were mostly 18-year-old men. We had a full week of "snapping in" where we spent hours with the unloaded M-16 in various firing positions before we were even allowed to fire a live round. We also had days of training sessions on range safety, ballistics, how to handle recoil and all of that.
So speaking as a highly trained Marine, it is insulting to see this "Bullets and Burgers" roadside joint treat the firing of machines guns so cavalierly and irresponsibly. I went through weeks of basic training to even get my hands on a loaded semi-automatic weapon and this reckless outfit puts the same type of weapon in the hands of a 9-year-old girl for the purchase of an "adventure" package that includes a burger and fries. It is so stupid when you consider the recoil from such a weapon can put a Marine on the ground when not handled properly.
I feel badly that the 9-year-old girl and the families (of both the girl and the victim) have to live with this the rest of their lives. As well, the gun grabbers now have plenty more ammo in which to attempt to deny the rest of our our Second Amendment rights. All because common sense is apparently in short supply in the sands of Nevada.
Ditto.We were the last cycle at Ft Knox to qualify with the M-14 and the first to qualify with the M-16.I don't recall exactly what we were instructed to do when in full auto but I do recall that this boy from the suburbs of Boston was both surprised and thrilled by the experience...and that there were no fatalities.
IIRC, it took 2 weeks for St Skittles’ tox screen to come back, and it was announced that St Blunts’ test would take the same time.
Does every deceased get a tox screen test? Not being a medical professional, I don’t know how complicated those things are. This article gives some insight:
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/features/the-truth-about-toxicology-tests
A friend told me of an incident here years ago (1953) before we moved here.
A soldier, back from Korea, managed to smuggle in a full auto PPSh Russian sub machine gun and a loaded drum magazine. His dad wanted to fire it, and the instant he pulled the trigger it jumped and scared him so bad he threw the gun down and he jumped back away from it like he was snake bit.
I have no idea of who it was, but the way people took care of their guns back then it is probably a rusted up piece of junk now.
What were his skill sets ? What were his Certification in Firearms Safety ? Was he a Certified Firearms Instructor ? Was he just a person with male genes ? Was he a drunk ? Was he on psychotropic drugs ? Who claims he was a firearms instructor ?
When I teach a beginner to use full auto weapons,I start with only 3 or 4 rounds in the mag.
“The Trifecta of Fups”
Add in the fact that a father handed his son the same weapon at a gun show not long ago with the result that the son died on the spot. The instructor MUST have heard the report...
A negligent discharge is caused by either ignorance or carelessness. The person can be considered ignorant, if they have not been trained. They are considered careless, if they disregard their training.
Always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot Always keep the gun unloaded until ready to use
There is no such thing as an accidental discharge.
Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction
YUP!
The instructor pressed Darwin for proof of his theory on two fronts:
Standing beside someone he was instructing.
Handing a full auto to a child, who hadn’t the experience to manage the firearm.
>> “Prosecutors say they will not file charges” <<
Charges for what?
The perpetrator of this disaster is deceased.
.
I remember many times when I was in infantry basic training that accidents were just split seconds from being deadly. One thing I was taught was to keep my finger off the trigger until I was ready to shoot for effect. There were still incidents . One I remember was at the 25 yard range and a not so bright(really) recruit was still on the line when firing was called off. This guy actually fired a round when the drill sgt. was scoring the cards. Another time was when we were training to shoot anti tank grenades. I as were all others ordered to keep our finger out of the guard until we were set to fire. I remember putting the M1 to my shoulder very tight. I don’t recall the sequence of actions but I do recall that when I put my finger on the trigger I ended up sitting on the ground. So I learned about unintended consequences happening in split seconds. I always was with my sons as they progressed from BB guns to high powered rifles and shotguns and good NRA background training.
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