The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: PegLeg45 on August 27, 2014, 12:22:01 PM
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This same thing happened just a few years ago......
http://abcnews.go.com/US/year-girl-accidentally-kills-shooting-range-instructor/story?id=25139216
Girl, 9, Accidentally Kills Instructor While Firing an Uzi
A 9-year-old girl being taught how to use an Uzi sub-machine gun lost control of the powerful weapon and accidentally killed her instructor, authorities said.
The shooting happened at 10 a.m. Monday at Arizona Last Stop shooting range, a tourist spot southeast of Las Vegas.
According to the Mohave County Sheriff's Office, the instructor –- identified as Charles Vacca, 39 –- was standing next to the girl, teaching her how to use the Uzi. The girl's parents, who are from New Jersey, stood nearby, capturing video of the experience.
The girl, in a gray T-shirt, pink shorts and her hair in a braid, can be seen in the video being advised to adjust her feet. "All right, go ahead and give me one shot," Vacca is heard telling her.
The instructor praises the girl for the shot and then tells her, "All right full auto."
As the girl pulled the trigger, and the recoil caused her to lose control of the gun, with Vacca accidentally shot in the head, the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said. Vacca was flown to the University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.
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I know exactly where that range is, I drove past it on my way to SHOT every year. It was one of those "Hey, Shoot a Machine Gun!" places like you see in Vegas, and a low-rent version of such a thing as well. I can't imagine they had the most extensive safety procedures in the world at that range.
Thoughts and prayers to all involved.
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I see nothing wrong with teaching a 9 year old how to shoot a machine gun....but one bullet at a time...
When they learn how to handle the gun with 1 round, ad a second.. and if they handle it, add another till they start to reach their limit....or just stay at 2 or 3 rounds till it is flawless.
The trainer paid for his negligence, but the young girl has a heavy burden to handle.
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Unfortunately, this isn't the first time an Uzi and a youngster has ended in Tragedy:
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/27399337/ns/us_news-life/t/boy-accidentally-kills-self-gun-show/
Having taught many kids to shoot I can't for the life me see how someone could think that a full auto Uzi for a 9 year on there own is a good idea.
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Hi;
Have to agree with Solus....1 single shot from a first time 9 year old shooter and then he says go full auto !!! What was that guy thinking, and why was he not prepared to properly position himself to react "in case " ?
I see a lot of Dad's taking little kids out to the range and start them off on a 30-30 or 30-06. After a few shots - the kid is scared ( then sore from ) of a weapon and does not want to shoot anymore.
WTF was the parents thinking by having a 9 year old girl start off with a weapon like that ?
Some kids are better off with no parents......
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Unfortunately, this isn't the first time an Uzi and a youngster has ended in Tragedy:
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/27399337/ns/us_news-life/t/boy-accidentally-kills-self-gun-show/
Having taught many kids to shoot I can't for the life me see how someone could think that a full auto Uzi for a 9 year on there own is a good idea.
Some people would learn from that earlier incident. This last guy didn't.
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My eight year old son loves guns. And cars. He's either going to be a Cavalry Scout or a getaway driver.
He likes driving go-carts, and he can, with me in the passenger seat. He likes shooting his Remington 714, and he does, with me alongside him.
He doesn't drive my car, though, and he won't shoot full auto for quite awhile, because neither activity is safe for him.
Leave the full-auto for full-size people.
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It works for some less than full size folks if they have had proper training.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIF3pW_kTuo
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I know exactly where that range is, I drove past it on my way to SHOT every year.
Yep. North side of 93 on the way from Kingman to Vegas.
(the stretch that looks like a perfect place to test nuclear weapons above ground) The speed limit should be 140.
It looks from the outside while driving past a cross between a depression era whorehouse and a rundown cafe with an overpriced gas station.
The "Shoot a Machine Gun!" and "Burgers and Bullets" sign out front was enough to keep me going on down the road.
I feel bad for the guys family but much worse for the 9 yr old. She's going to bear that burden for the rest of her life.
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I note that both incidents involved small, short, guns.
Simplest answer would be to restrict children under a certain age, or size, to only firing "belt fed" guns that are more or less "secured" to the bench by their weight .
Or, perhaps require that they only fire such small guns if equipped with a suppressor, or barrel extension.
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If you go on Google Earth this is the place:
35 43' 23.00" N
114 29' 08.53" W
It's a rest stop / gas station / shooting range type place. You can see the built up berms in the back of the place. Both the instructor who was killed, as well as the owner of the place are from Lake Havasu City.
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Yeah, I've gone by it at least a dozen times.
Note the verb there: I went by it, I did not stop.
It's for tourists who need to get their gun on. I have (or rather, had) Scottsdale Gun Club for that. Not a big fan of gun tourism in general, I must say. I get the idea that guns are fun and people from places outside of America like Hawaii or California need to have a place to get their yahyahs out, but no one goes on vacation to work with power tools in a commercial garage, and the idea of going on vacation to shoot guns seems kinda similar to me...
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Actually Kevin you are not 100% correct in your last post. I have worked on two projects that are basically "Rent-A-Shop" type deals, where a "hobbyist, entrepreneur, or wanna-be" can go in, draw their project on autocad, do machine-shop, carpentry shop, paint shop, molding, whatever (with professional assistance) to finish off their projects.
It's kinda like blue collar camp.
Having said that, we were members of a range that started catering to newbies. As much as I encourage people to take up the shooting sports, I don't like being around crowds of them with spotty supervision.
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I have worked on two projects that are basically "Rent-A-Shop" type deals,
Huh. Never heard of such before. I stand corrected. And intrigued... :D
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Have heard of similar for cars.
You rent a bay with lift and other professional equipment.
Not really a vacation, but a way to do your Sat. morning car maintenance standing up rather than laying on a creeper under a car on driveway ramps or jack stands.
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Here's one of the projects:
http://nextfab.com/
Interesting concept...classes on trades and "membership" where you come in and work on your prototype.
I'm sure it's NOT cheap.