Posted on 01/14/2011 1:37:36 PM PST by JoeProBono
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A gun fair organizer was acquitted of manslaughter Friday in the 2008 death of an 8-year-old boy who accidentally shot himself in the head with an Uzi at a machine gun expo.
A Hampden Superior Court jury found former Pelham, Mass., Police Chief Edward Fleury not guilty of involuntary manslaughter and three counts of furnishing machine guns to minors in the death of Christopher Bizilj of Ashford, Conn. The charges carry up to 50 years in prison.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
Devin Connery of Lunenburg, Mass., fired a Heckler & Koch UMP on Sunday at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman’s Club. This photograph was taken before 8-year-old Christopher Bizilj apparently lost control of an Uzi and shot himself in the head.
so sad, so unnecessary.....
so sad, so unnecessary.....
Yikes. Amateur hour.
As I recall the kid had an adult standing by him when the incident occured. He should have had someone helping to hold the gun and there should only have been about 5 rounds in the gun.
“Grieving father says he gave son, 8, permission to fire Uzi”
October 27, 2008 02:18 PM
The adult was his father if I am not mistaken.
A tragedy that could have been avoided.
That said, the organizer was not responsible and thankfully the jury found him not guilty.
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/jury_finds_edward_fleury_innoc/865/comments.html
Comment thread under this article is overwhelmingly in high praise of the innocent verdict.
Without knowing exactly what this organizer’s specific role was and what instructions he gave to those working at the show, it is hard to judge.
However, the fact that idiot father gave permission for his 8 year old to fire an Uzi it does not necessarily remove all criminal culpability from the organizers and employees of the event.
If I told the owner of a car dealership that my 8 year old daughter had permission to test drive an SUV and he allowed her to drive off the lot in it, we would BOTH be criminally liable for whatever damage she caused to herself or others.
Allowing an 8 year old to fire an Uzi in a public place was criminally stupid and irresponsible, IMHO. We should be thankful nobody else was killed when the boy (predictably) lost control of the weapon.
What's worse is that the 15 year-old repeatedly told the father of the kid that the Uzi was probably too powerful, and that he should choose something else. But no, the father insisted he get to fire the Uzi. However amateur, the teenager actually had more sense for the kid's preservation than dad did.
Don’t think I would have given permission.
Well, isn't that nice of him./sarc
I don't think the father should be charged either, but not because the father feels the worst.
Who is this prosecutor?
Full size uzi with wood stock. NEVER give a submachinegun to someone if they are untrained, esp. if it has a HROF and a collapsable stock. Thompsons...sure, Beretta 41s...yep, Stens...sure.....Mini uzis and MACs...hell no!
You clearly know little about Uzi’s.
They come in three sizes, different rates of fire, and several calibers.
The kid should have been able to handle a full size, or even a Mini in 9-mm.
The Micro is the most difficult (and fastest rate of fire) to handle in FA, and not one I would have allowed him to shoot in 9-mm, but might in .22 if he appeared reasonably strong coordinated.
I’ve made a lot of kids VERY happy shooting several models of my machine guns, including Full Size UZI, no one has ever gotten so much as a scratch.
I’ve done this for several years at many events.
We always either hold the kid in a supporting manner, or are nearly doing so. For at least for the first mag, until they demonstrate that they have no trouble controlling the firearm.
The most common error of new shooters is to lean BACK instead of forward into the recoil.
That can be unstable for slightly built women and kids.
From what I have read the Micro got away from him, a tragic error was made, but there was clearly no criminal INTENT.
Remember the principle of criminal INTENT?
Apparently the jury does.
I remember shooting 12 gauges and my dads Mac10 when I was around 10. This is unfortunate.
Yeah, I’ll never forget my dad handing me his double-barrel 12 ga. when I was maybe 6-7. I had shot .22 with him many times and was a little too full of myself. I asked him if I could shoot it and he asked if thought I could handle it. Running my young mouth like a fool I said “sure.” Nearly tore my young should off. He told me “son, now you know why I don’t want you messing around with guns you aren’t ready for.”
Painful, but lesson learned. I think that was the same year I got a .410 for Christmas. My brother still has that double and I still don’t like shooting it.
You obviously know nothing about children, gun safety or the law.
Criminal intent is NOT required in negligent or reckless homicide cases.
No 8 year old should ever fire any automatic weapon, period. Even if you disagree with that, the fact that the boy was killed clearly proves that in this case it was done in an unsafe manner.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.