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Arizona Shooting Range Instructor Killed by Girl With Uzi
NBC News ^ | Aug. 26, 2014

Posted on 08/26/2014 6:50:05 PM PDT by Rennes Templar

A shooting range instructor in Arizona was accidentally shot and killed by a 9-year-old girl who was learning how to shoot an Uzi, authorities said on Tuesday.

Charles Vacca, 39, was teaching the girl how to use the automatic weapon on Monday morning at the Last Stop outdoor shooting range in White Hills, Arizona, when she pulled the trigger and the kickback caused the gun to lurch over her head, investigators said.

Vacca was hit by a stray bullet and airlifted to University Medical Center in Las Vegas, where he was pronounced dead late Monday. The girl was at the range with her parents at the time, but their names were not released.

Sam Scarmardo, the manager for the Last Stop's shooting range, told NBC News that "the establish practice at most shooting ranges is 8 years old and up with parental supervision."

He said Vacca was a "great guy, with a great sense of humor" and called him "very conscientious and very professional."

Scarmardo said that the range has never had a similar incident in over a decade of being open — "not even a scratch."

"I just ask everybody to pray for Charlie, and pray for the client, she’s going to have a hard time," said Scarmardo.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety referred inquiries to the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, which didn't return calls for comment.

Ronald Scott, a Phoenix-based firearms safety expert, said most instructors usually have their hands on guns when children are firing high-powered weapons. "You can't give a 9-year-old an Uzi and expect her to control it," Scott told the Associated Press.

(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: banglist; charlesvacca; shootingrange; uzi; whitehills
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To: kvanbrunt2

I think you raise a good point about first time shooters getting “giddy” immediately following shooting off a few rounds. I always stand right up against them ready to grab the gun if, in their excitement, they don’t keep it pointed down range at all times. I tell them in advance of shooting that no matter what keep the gun pointed DOWNRANGE! Even if you think it is empty, keep it pointed DOWNRANGE! Even when you have the safety on, keep it pointed DOWNRANGE!

Then, as I said, not trusting inexperienced shooters I stand right next to them ready to grab the gun and often do.


61 posted on 08/26/2014 9:04:35 PM PDT by Cen-Tejas (it's the debt bomb stupid!)
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To: Rennes Templar

This happened here in the Seattle area at a range....if I remember correctly was a mother son combo and a large caliber handgun....recoil over head and pulled trigger again when pulling the gun back to the front.


62 posted on 08/26/2014 9:08:33 PM PDT by TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig (This town needs an enema)
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To: SaxxonWoods; Nachum; SunkenCiv

Kennesaw, GA requires all households to have a working firearm and ammo.

A Kennesaw police officer was shot and killed about two years ago.
In the city of Marietta, GA.
By a Marietta police officer.
In the Marietta police gun range. 8<(

Since this gun law went into effect in the 1970’s, no other Kennesaw resident has been wounded by gunfire.


63 posted on 08/26/2014 9:23:37 PM PDT by Robert A Cook PE (I can only donate monthly, but socialists' ABBCNNBCBS continue to lie every day!)
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To: Fire_on_High
I’m with you...I’d be awfully hesitant to handle an Uzi myself for fear I wouldn’t have sufficient strength to control it properly!

There is an awful lot of firearms FUD in this thread. People, it's just a 9mm machine gun. Sure, the little girl needed help, but it is possible for a child to control a pistol-caliber submachine gun.

With the reactions here on FR, it's no wonder we lose more rights every day.

64 posted on 08/26/2014 9:50:45 PM PDT by backwoods-engineer (Blog: www.BackwoodsEngineer.com)
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To: backwoods-engineer

Nope. I’m a firm 2A supporter.

I’m also female, with small hands and an iffy wrist. I use extra caution in handling a kettle full of boiling water or a casserole dish fresh from the oven, so why wouldn’t I be equally aware of the risks of handling a firearm?

Common sense would have been to be sure the girl was both strong enough and prepared.


65 posted on 08/26/2014 11:43:36 PM PDT by Fire_on_High (RIP City of Heroes and Paragon Studios, victim of the Obamaconomy.)
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To: Rennes Templar

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11057775/Nine-year-old-American-girl-accidentally-kills-shooting-instructor-with-Uzi-submachine-gun.html


66 posted on 08/26/2014 11:43:58 PM PDT by LeoWindhorse
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To: Rennes Templar

Maybe the kid felt threatened by the instructor.


67 posted on 08/27/2014 1:35:28 AM PDT by AnAmericanInEngland
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To: re_nortex

lets not confuse an accidental death with murder.


68 posted on 08/27/2014 2:02:48 AM PDT by Dusty Road
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To: Oliviaforever
Because of that idiot instructor, this little girl will live the rest of her life with the guilt and nightmares for helping him win a well deserved Darwin Award.

I think it's a combination of idiot instructor and idiot parents who thought it'd be a good idea to let their little darlin' loose with a full auto Uzi.

69 posted on 08/27/2014 4:29:04 AM PDT by DoodleDawg
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To: backwoods-engineer
Sure, the little girl needed help, but it is possible for a child to control a pistol-caliber submachine gun.

Not in this instance apparently.

70 posted on 08/27/2014 4:30:16 AM PDT by DoodleDawg
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To: Rennes Templar
If you watch the vid, he shows her how to shoot, then just gives her the gun. Not a good move...

Too many people who act like they are 'teaching' someone to shoot are really just in it to laugh at them when they screw up. All sorts of dumbas$ boyfriends take their girl the range, stick her behind something big, with no training, and then are surprised when she never wants to go shooting ever again. Really? What did you expect when she was having a panic attack with the 357 and you were laughing your ass off? Blithering idiots.
71 posted on 08/27/2014 6:11:12 AM PDT by TalonDJ
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To: Rennes Templar

A NINE YEAR OLD!!??

I don’t let my 9 yr old girl shoot a Daisy Buck without my hand on/near it.


72 posted on 08/27/2014 6:12:44 AM PDT by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter admits whom he's working for)
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To: Rennes Templar
I give the instructor every benefit of every doubt because this clearly was an accident.

But, smeone like that HAS to have his head in the game 100% at all times. It only takes one lapse to achieve disaster. The instructor was in the line of fire when the girl put her finger on the trigger. That means she was not properly supervised while holding a loaded and charged sub-machine gun.

I mean, "Keep you finger off the trigger until ready to fire" is ingrained in anyone who owns or uses firearms. In this instance she obviously wasn't completely clear on that rule. She should not have been left handling that weapon. A lapse that made it a bad day for everyone.

73 posted on 08/27/2014 6:21:22 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts ("A man should be prepared to be sufficient unto himself...")
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To: Rennes Templar

Was this guy actually a certified instructor or just some buffoon who handed a kid an Uzi set to full auto?

The NRA pistol instructor class teaches instructors where to stand (behind, slightly to the gun side) and the proper technique to quickly take control of the firearm if things go wrong. It’s straightforward to do this for a handgun, but I would think a similar technique would apply for long guns, or a short Uzi in this case.


74 posted on 08/27/2014 6:57:04 AM PDT by barefoot_hiker
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To: Rennes Templar

Darwin Awards.


75 posted on 08/27/2014 7:35:57 AM PDT by sagar
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To: Rennes Templar

Well, he was very lucky to die doing something he loved in a place that he loved. He’s free now.


76 posted on 08/27/2014 7:41:01 AM PDT by Tau Food (Never give a sword to a man who can't dance.)
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To: re_nortex

A 8 year old boy was killed in Massachusetts when he shot himself in the head with a FA UZI back in 2011, IIRC. Another act of stupidity by range owners.

Firearms can be appropriate for kids (with supervision) if the child is mentally and physically capable of handling that weapon.’

My daughter can fire my Glock 19 with supervision.
My daughter CAN NOT fire a Glock 18 (auto) under any circumstances.


77 posted on 08/27/2014 7:41:13 AM PDT by SJSAMPLE
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To: ctdonath2

I think that was the Massachusetts case.
The range owner was a cop, so of course he was found not guilty at trial.


78 posted on 08/27/2014 7:42:52 AM PDT by SJSAMPLE
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To: QBFimi

My old range “The Firing Line” in Athens Georgia had a disturbed psyche major off himself about a decade ago.

It happens more than people think.

Remember the mother that was shooting with her son a few years ago?
The video caught her walking up behind him and calmly putting a gun to the back of his head before killing him, then killing herself.


79 posted on 08/27/2014 7:46:57 AM PDT by SJSAMPLE
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To: Rennes Templar
"You can't give a 9-year-old an Uzi and expect her to control it," Scott told the Associated Press.

That seems pretty obvious to everyone except the instructor.

80 posted on 08/27/2014 7:51:21 AM PDT by CAluvdubya (<------- has now left CA for NV, where guns and God have not been outlawed! Molon Labe)
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