In this Nov 11, 1997 file photo an Uzi pistol is displayed at the Israeli Military Industries (IMI) in Ramat Hasharon. — AFP photo
LOS ANGELES: A nine-year-old girl learning to fire an Uzi submachine gun accidentally killed her instructor at a shooting range in the United States, triggering more debate over gun control in the country.
The tragedy occurred Monday at the Last Stop roadside resort in the western state of Arizona, where the girl had been taken by her parents for a firearms lesson, the local sheriff’s office said.
The little girl had successfully managed to control the military-grade weapon in the ‘single shot’ mode at the Bullets and Burgers gun range, part of the 30-acre Last Stop facility.
But when shooting instructor Charles Vacca, 39, switched the Uzi into the fully automatic setting, the force of the gunfire caused the weapon to rebound upward, and an errant bullet fired by the child struck him in the head.
“Vacca was standing next to the girl while he was instructing her how to use the weapon when the accident happened,” said the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office in a statement.
“Further investigations determined the girl pulled the trigger on the automatic Uzi, the recoil sent the gun over her head, and the victim was shot.” Vacca died in hospital a short time later.
Authorities later released a video, editing out the fatal shot, of the tragic shooting lesson, which had been filmed by the girl’s parents.
It showed the instructor, standing on the girl’s left-hand side, telling her how to place her hands and feet to shoot the weapon. She can be seen shooting one round, with only a slight recoil.
“Give me one shot … right,” says the instructor, leaning in with an arm around her back.
The final frames of the video include the rapid-fire machine gun sound and the recoiling gun swinging upwards towards the instructor. — AFP