Family Sues Gun Club Over Negligent Death of Eight Year Old Boy Allowed to Shoot Uzi

Written By : Duane Lester

As a parent of five children, I understand the responsibility I have for each of them. I am responsible for their health and welfare and everything that goes with it. I am responsible for good decision making that keeps them from danger. Which is why I find it repulsive that a father who not only allowed his eight year old son to handle an Uzi, but paid for the child’s opportunity to fire it, would sue the gun fair where the child fatally wounded himself:

According to the 32-page lawsuit, on Oct. 28, 2008, Charles Bizilj purchased the opportunity for his son, Christopher, to fire a Micro Uzi 9 mm that was owned by Giuffre and brought to the exposition by Spano. Giuffre and Spano were reportedly designated as “renters” at the expo, hired and solicited by Fleury to provide the weapons used by patrons.

When Christopher reportedly stepped to the line to fire the weapon, the suit alleges that Spano’s son, 15-year-old Michael Spano, was the line officer charged with loading the weapon, handing it to the participant and providing instructions on its use. While Christopher was firing, Charles Bizilj was reportedly ordered to stay clear of the area and was required to stand behind restraining ropes.

On the first and second firing attempt, the suit alleges the weapon jammed and that Spano retrieved it, cleared what he believed was a jammed round of ammunition, and handed it back to Christopher. On the third try, when the boy attempted to raise the weapon to his shoulder, the stock slid down his shoulder, causing the barrel to spin upward and discharge as Christopher tried to prevent it from falling, according to the suit.

It is terrible that this boy died, and I truly feel for the father’s loss.

However, I have to ask: who brought the boy to the “Great New England Pumpkin Shoot?” Who paid for him to shoot an Uzi? This wasn’t a gun show. It was a fair where people came to shoot automatic weapons. Charles Bizilj had to know where he was taking his son.

I know some out there might think it was the responsibility of the organizers to ensure the safety of the participants. The organizers have been charged in the death, however, doesn’t some of the responsibility fall on the father as well? Even with my limited experience with firearms, I know that handing a child an automatic weapon isn’t safe.

It.

Isn’t.

Safe.

I have been trained that there are no accidental shootings, but there are negligent discharges. For a round to go where it isn’t meant, there has to be some negligence involved. There are lapses of judgment that could have prevented Christopher’s death, starting with the father. From the beginning, he was negligent in his duties as a father.

I guess were I in his position, I would want the blame for my son’s death to fall on another as well. It would be easier that way.

But it would be a lie.

What do you think? Tell me in the comments.

Cross posted at All American Blogger. Come on over and see what else is going on.

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rjschwarz

It is 100% the fathers responsibility. The kid should have never been there. Not at 8 years old. I’ve got an 8 year old in the house. I love the kid, but 8 year olds are easily distracted, don’t pay much attention in the first place, and should be nowhere near an unforgiving piece of hardware like a gun (especially a short barreled thing that could easily be aimed at his own head).

The faire should also have an age limit. I’m surprised their insurance doesn’t insist on an age limit. Bet when the dust settles they will.
http://huckupchuck.blogspot.com huckupchuck1

Seems to me that the fault is not 100% the father’s (though I would agree he has to bear the brunt of the blame for his own irresponsibility). Once the boy was entrusted to another, and the father was intentionally excluded from involvement in his son’s handling of the weapon, that was the moment when the organizers assumed some of the responsibility for the safe operation of the gun. In fact, I would imagine that their policy of keeping the father away is precisely for the organizers to assume responsibility for the general safety of the experience. In essence, they were telling the father: “Back off. For everyone’s safety, we’ve got it from here.”
Toastrider

Huck makes a good point (for once). It’s similar to the assumed responsibility that schools and day care centers operate under. They take care of the kids and thus assume safety responsibilities…

…which brings me to the story. Yeah, the guy should’ve known better, but reading the story makes my eyes bug out. The gun jams twice? Inspected by a fifteen year old? What the hell?

So yeah, dad was foolish, but the organizers bear a large chunk of the blame as well. A 15 year old line officer… *snort*
Mike_M

There’s plenty of blame to go around. An 8 year old has no business around automatic weapons, especially an SMG which is probably the most difficult type of weapon to control. *Maybe* an 8 year old can shoot a .22 rifle from a table or prone…and that’s it. The father should have known better.

On the other hand this event seems to have been poorly run as well. As toast points out, teenage line officers and continually jamming weapons? WTF?

The father and whoever at the event allowed a 15 year-old line officer to let an 8 year-old shooter pick up an Uzi should probably both be criminally charged. This was a completely needless death, and bozos like this are what give the shooting community a bad name.
mr2trucker

Toastrider and Mike have it right. A 15 year old line officer inspecting an Uzi being fired by an 8 year old. There is no way in hell that would have happened at my local club shooting range. You need to be part of the USPSA, USSA, or equivalent to be a line officer. The father was an idiot and the organizers were VERY negligent.
tblrk2006

This is nothing more than a case of a poorly run gun rental operation. The child was clearly too imature, too weak, and too young to properly operate the weapon. EVERYBODY knows that kids this age start with 22′s and they do it with a parent or an instructor helping them aim and fire the weapon. This kids dad was a bozo and the operation should have handed him something more appropriate. Both at fault.
assassin6

You know, “fairs” like this are a great way for the general public that doesn’t know anything about weapons to literally “give them a shot” and get interested in shooting sports. Unfortunately, incidents like this will only give shooting sports a black eye (can I use that term, any PC Police out there?). Here you had an inappropriate, and possibly defective, weapon being given to an 8 year old who is in turn being “supervised” by someone to young to legally drive. If I had been there, big red flashing lights would have been going off in my head. In the Army we don’t let anyone fire a weapon until they have had a complete block of instruction on how to use it and then hands-on training without ammunition. There are some serious problems with what happened at this event. It makes all of us that shoot look incompetent. Lastly, I also believe that the father should have exercised better judgment and learned how to say, “no” when his son starts whining about wanting to shoot an UZI. I’ll step down from my soapbox now.
http://guardian.blogdrive.com/ CavalierX

I’ve got nothing good to say about a father who puts a submachine gun into the hands of his untrained 8 year old kid — someone obviously too small and weak to handle the recoil — and then allows the kid to fire it on his own, or the people who would use a 15 year old kid as a line officer, responsible for the safety of others.
http://ragingtory.blogspot.com Justin_Hoffer

Zero fault for the fair organizers, 100% fault for the father. He is the one that should be charged for the boy’s death, not the fair organizers.

Debbie Spend-it-now is selling America’s future to the Chinese

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