Pa. Open Carry ~Responsible carry, in the open.

Mass. boy dies after accidentally shooting himself


WESTFIELD, Mass. – An 8-year-old boy has died after accidentally shooting himself in the head while firing an Uzi submachine gun under adult supervision in western Massachusetts.

Police Lt. Lawrence Valliere says the boy lost control of the weapon while firing it Sunday at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club. Police say the force of the weapon made it "travel up and back" to the boy's head.

The victim was taken to Baystate Medical Center where he died.

His name was not immediately released.

Law enforcement officials say although the incident appears to be an accident, police and the Hampden District Attorney's office are investigating.

Efforts to reach officials with the private club were not immediately successful.



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JUST MY OPINION.. but I dont think anyone under the age of 12 should be shooting anything other than a bb gun... just for lack of control of weapons....

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wait, was the gun full auto? what kind of moron gives an 8 year old a gun to shoot on auto. i hope whoever handed it to him is charged with something.

(10-27-2008 09:00 AM)schr8er2000 Wrote: [ -> ]-------------------------------------------------------------------------
JUST MY OPINION.. but I dont think anyone under the age of 12 should be shooting anything other than a bb gun... just for lack of control of weapons....

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Respect your opinion but I think it depends on the gun. Both my sons were shooting since 6yrs old. But I would never hand them a uzi to shoot, especially full auto.

I had my daughter shooting my semi 22lr rifle when she was 6, with my physical guidence. I would however hesitate to let even a teen shoot a full auto. I do not the exact circumstances of the incident but I would have to say there was some negligence there.

(10-27-2008 10:06 AM)jahwarrior72 Wrote: [ -> ]wait, was the gun full auto? what kind of moron gives an 8 year old a gun to shoot on auto. i hope whoever handed it to him is charged with something.

I disagree.

While I would agree it is poor judgment to expect a 8yr old to be able to handle a FA weapon safely, I am not in agreement with criminal charges.

It was an accident. Negligent? Yes, but accidental none the less. IMO

I wouldn't let a 8 yr old ride a dirt bike either, but I don't think that someone else should face criminal charges for doing so if the kid gets hurt.

Unfortunately, this parent will suffer either way from this tragic accident. I would not want that regret this fellow will live with the rest of his life. SHame on him for exercising poor judgment but God help him an his family deal with the loss..

This is truely a sad situation. Whoever the adult was must be devistated, even if it was not a parent. I agree that charges are not the best thing here. They have to live the rest of their life thinking about what happened, which is worse than any charges they could hand down. God Bless that little boy, and his family.

If the adult was the child's parent then let me say there is nothing worse than the loss of your child due to your negligence, so criminal charges would be the last thing on his mind. this tradjedy will haunt him for the rest of his life. And trust me no one wants that on rgeir concience.

i if you don't let your kids shoot till the age of 12 then how are they going to be able to know how to handle the gun there going to hunt with at the age of 12. my son has shot a 12ga., 30.06, 30.30, 30 carbim semi rifle and my springfield 45 semi. i think you need to use your head when a kid is shooting and the kid needs to be familiar with the weapon before shooting. knowledge is the best tool you have . and yes if that gun was full auto that kid had no reason to even be handling that weapon.


i just watched the video of that shooting and yes it was full auto machine gun 9 mm they said that they think the boy was shooting and the gun was coming up and the boy didnt let go of the trigger and shot him in the head..
heres the link for the video= http://wbztv.com/local/boy.shot.with.2.849254.html