[Peet]

Local news ran a clip last night - up to but not including the moment the child shot himself.

There was a person (”instructor”?) standing beside the child at all times and during the course of the video — he cleared jams twice. Articles in the local newspaper (yeah, I know) describe the person as mid- or late-teens depending what source I read. They all or most agree that the “instructor” was NOT certified (whatever THAT means) but there was a larger person beside the 8-yo at all times “supervising” or “instructing”

Rumours and anti-gun agendas are so rampant it is damn-near impossible to sort facts from mis- dis-information. For example, my total lib-tard brother-in-law asserts that the father INSISTED/DEMANDED that the 8-yo be allowed to fire the Uzi against the wishes of the sponsors of the event. Problem is he didn’t know the former Pelham cop who provided the guns from the doctor father who brought his sons to the event; BIL just KNEW the cop was the father.

We have people like my BIL spreading “authoritative” information as well as illiterate reporters writing articles that mix up facts. No wonder we’re all confused.

[driftdiver]

They only way an 8yr should fire an UZI is with very limited ammunition and someone holding the gun with him.

Adults can have a difficult time controlling these firearms, let alone a small child.

[CharlesWayneCT]

Here's some testimony from the teenager who was standing with the boy when the boy killed himself. Michael_Spano: Father of Christopher Bizilj wanted sons to shoot "full automatic":

Spano told the jury in Hampden Superior Court that Christopher's 11-year-old brother Colin had been firing a full-size Uzi. When that weapon malfunctioned, Spano presented the Bizilj's with a similar weapon -- the Micro Uzi. But, Spano testified, he warned the Bizilj party that the Micro Uzi "kicks hard and shoots fast."

Under cross-examination, defense attorney Rosemary Curran Scapicchio asked Spano if Dr. Bizilj approved of his sons' use of the Micro Uzi because "he wanted them to have the experience of a fully automatic firearm." Spano said Scapicchio's description was accurate.

Other reports indicate that the father signed a waiver that included the warning that risks included death.

This report from when the lawsuit was filed suggests the kid didn't shoot himself because the gun kicked, but rather that the kid accidentally pulled the trigger when trying to hold the gun after it slipped off his shoulder:

The details in the court documents show the gun apparently went off when the boy was attempting to keep it from falling after the stock of the weapon slipped down from his shoulder. His father, Dr. Charles D. Bizilj, who brought Christopher and his 11-year-old brother Colin, to the show, had been ordered to remain away from the firing line behind restraining ropes, according to the suit.

I don't know which is more accurate, that description of the suit, or what is being said here that the kickback made the gun spin around.

Whatever the case, a lot of more people could have died than just the 8-year-old; if the kid couldn't control the gun, he could have shot almost anybody at the fair.