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The operator of the shooting range where in innocent girl killed a moron instructor, speaking about the girl: Firing an Uzi was "high on her bucket list".
Quote:
This was a very mature young lady, and it's something she wanted to do and her parents were treating her. You know, this was a big -- something that was high on her bucket list to do and her parents took her out to do what she was gonna do...
No.
She is nine years old.
She does not have a bucket list.
She has idiot parents who wanted her to do this, because it would be 'cute' and/or 'funny'.
There was an idiot instructor whose gun fetishization went to the point where he figured a nine-year-old with little previous exposure to firearms would be fine with an Uzi on full auto.
He is dead, due to his own idiocy.
She is undoutedly guilt-laden, through no foult of her own, and will certainly be haunted by this for the rest of her life solely due to the idiot instructor and her idiot parents.
Some people need to grow up.
They need to understand that firearms are tools, not toys.
They need to stop with the hysteria, the inane the-goverment's-comin'-for-me-so-I-need-a-submachine-gun, the Red-Dawn-looks-like-a-totally-realistic-training-film-to-me fantasies, the teaching of children that the world is such a terrifying place that they need an Uzi and the skills to use it to survive.
If idiot adults want to kill themselves with their child-like fascination with firearms, go for it. You know, the "Golly, officer, I was just cleaning the darn thing and it just went off all by itself!" nonsense? We all know that 90% of those fools weren't cleaning their firearms, they were practicing their Rambo/Dirty Harry moves. Personally, I support their self-removal from the gene pool. Unfortunately, many of them put a bullet through the apartment wall, or through their friend's face, or just leave their toys laying around until an innocent child finds it.
Go ahead, play Russian roulette with your own lives.
I agree with this, the girls parents may not have understood the power of the weapon. The instructor and owner of the gun range did know, and should have put a less powerful weapon in the girls hands. I feel most sorry for this girl, this was not her fault in any way, but yet she will live with the guilt. The video put on here by a previous poster also suggests that other gun ranges are much more careful about inexperienced folks firing automatic weapons. The video depicted the trainer standing on the gun side with a hand on the ready to control an automatic weapon that starts to get away from the shooter. I bet that gun range is more in line with professional standards. I find it sad that people out there are using this as a tool to demonize youth gun programs, youth shooting in general. This incident has NOTHING to do with the appropriateness of youth shooting, but instead has to do with a very poor decision by a state licensed shooting facility. No one should expect a nine year old girl to know how powerful that uzi is, nor should you expect her parents to know either. Most people have little contact with automatic weapons, so the reality is that this family was counting on the professionals at the range to know what was appropriate and what was not.
No doubt she was too young to handle the weapon.
However, just to add to this discussion, alot of firearms accidents happen, ironically, because instructors, gun owners, and commonly police officers, become to familiar and complacent around firearms. It's not due to lack of training, from all accounts this instructor was trained. But I saw several mistakes when watching this video
- The instructor had his hand below the barrel without a firm grip. The barrel climbs when shooting auto fire.
- He was standing beside her and not behind,
- He only let her fire one round to get used to the weight and recoil, then went to full auto.
- and most importantly - SHE WAS TOO YOUNG/TOO SMALL.
An uzi also should have a retractable stock, I can't tell if one was in use or not, that would have controlled the recoil and climb to a certain degree. He probably did this act dozens of times a day with tourists without an accident. Of course, it only takes one accident with a firearm....
But, when one handles firearms every day, you just get too comfortable around them. You get lazy, you start skipping safety rules, you get complacent. And complacency kills.
waiver, schmaiver...doesn't absolve the employer from negligence in allowing a 9 yo to fire off an uzi, all for the purpose of making a couple hundred bucks. The best thing to come from this is that Burgers, Bullets and Bloodshed will cease to exist after the lawyers get done carving up the remains. The worst lawyer in America will be able to win this case easily.
It's not negligence if they were following the law, which they were. The state approved children as young as 8 shooting Uzis at this place. They knew the place allowed 8 year olds when they applied for their business license. The state could have said "we won't grant the license unless you make the minimum age 4" but they didn't they said 8 years old is fine. That's what I keep saying, if the laws prohibited it this never would have happened, but when it comes to guns, it seems the less rules the happier everyone is. Yet everyone keeps saying the laws and rules aren't the problem, the only problem is the girl's parents per many here.
I have never driven a tractor trailer, but I know it isn't easy. And I know enough that if I climbed into the cab of one and attempted to drive it on the highway, it would not go well.
I don't need to attempt to drive a tractor trailer to know I couldn't just get in it and drive off.
Parents need to be told because they don't know it's not a good idea to a put an automatic weapon into the hands of a 60 pound child 9yr old child??????
Do they also need to be told not to let her drive the car?
Come on.
Apparently and especially...when the parents are "very familiar with weapons". Perhaps more disturbing...
Mr. Scarmardo said that the girl’s parents “were very familiar with weapons” and that Mr. Vacca and a tour guide had driven the family to the shooting range from their hotel in Las Vegas.
Mr. Vacca “had a long military career” and “was very well-trained,” said Mr. Scarmardo of Last Stop...
Apparently and especially...when the parents are "very familiar with weapons". Perhaps more disturbing...
Mr. Scarmardo said that the girl’s parents “were very familiar with weapons” and that Mr. Vacca and a tour guide had driven the family to the shooting range from their hotel in Las Vegas.
Mr. Vacca “had a long military career” and “was very well-trained,” said Mr. Scarmardo of Last Stop...
Apparently and especially...when the parents are "very familiar with weapons". Perhaps more disturbing...
Mr. Scarmardo said that the girl’s parents “were very familiar with weapons” and that Mr. Vacca and a tour guide had driven the family to the shooting range from their hotel in Las Vegas.
Mr. Vacca “had a long military career” and “was very well-trained,” said Mr. Scarmardo of Last Stop...
When it comes to deadly weapons, being 'very well trained' only matters if you strictly adhere to that training literally 24/7/365. Even the smallest lapse in judgment or procedure can have tragic consequences, as this case proves.
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