Police chief, gun club indicted in boy’s Uzi death

[Ichingcarpenter]

Source: Boston Herald

A police chief, gun club and two other people have been indicted on involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the death of an 8-year-old Connecticut boy, who accidentally shot himself in the head at a machine gun shoot.

Third-grader Christopher Bizilj of Ashford, Conn., died Oct 26 when he lost control of the 9 mm Micro Uzi he was firing at the Westfield Sportman’s Club.

He was under the supervision of an instructor, and his father, a doctor, was just feet away at the time. The gun, which was designed to be used by Israeli Armed Forces, fires at the rate of 1,700 rounds a minute, Hampden District Attorney William M. Bennett said in a statement.

It is illegal to give anyone under 18 years old a machine gun, he said.

Read more: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2008_12_04_Police_chief__gun_club_indicted_in_death_of_boy_who_shot_himself_with_Uzi_at_Mass_gun_show/

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[slackmaster]

1. That sounds about right

They were certainly negligent.

[Lautremont]

9. Would you say these people killed this boy?

[pipoman]

38. They acted in a completely negligent maner

I am an avid second amendment supporter. To allow an 8 year old to handle an automatic weapon without an adult holding his hands (with more than 2 rounds in the magazine) is negligent. Especially a very short weapon such as this one. The results are predictable by anyone with knowledge of these types of weapons. I really can't imagine what the owner of this gun was thinking to allow this to happen. So yes, they did kill this boy through their negligence. Tragic.

[slackmaster]

39. No, but they did apparently violate a state law

The boy killed himself accidentally.

[Clintonista2]

49. Yes

[PassingFair]

2. I would NOT like to be that boy's father.

But I don't feel particularly sorry for him.

His wife must be devastated.

[Rebubula]

5. Agreed

I have absolutely no problem with a child learning how to handle guns safely. In fact, as a country boy (Georgia) that is standard teaching from age 6 on.

However, this is a crime since there is no way that an 8 year old would be able to predict the kick of a machine gun. It is akin to giving a 16 driver the keys to a Maserati and letting them drive drunk on the Autobahn.

Like you...my sympathies are for the wife\other loved ones only.

[struggle4progress]

12. ... The father said he and the boy's mother "have no regrets" ...

He loved the Cape, and he'll be with us forever
11/02/08 · 1:01 am
Christopher Bizilj is laid to rest privately in Eastham on Saturday
http://www.capecodtoday.com/blogs/index.php/2008/11/02/he-loved-the-cape-and-he-ll-be-with-us-f?blog=53

[PassingFair]

14. That is one of the coldest things I've ever read.

This guy is a HOSPITAL DIRECTOR!!??

He has obviously become inured to death.

Even the unnecessary death of his own child.

[Rebubula]

15. Well...

Then the guy is a callous dick (There are topical ointments for that these days) and if his wife really said that (know of lots of couples where only one does the talking for both) - then she is a dick as well.

Fuck them both

[LisaL]

37. No regrets? How about regretting taking an 8 year old to the

gun show and letting him to shoot an UZI.
WTF?

[Bonobo]

3. Ed Fleury. He had it coming.

He was reckless with firearms. He had a history of being reckless with them. On the job. Firing live rounds in government buildings. A real asshole who assails even the most commonsense of gun restrictions and is obnoxious in his battle against them. You should see have seen his website for his private "handgun instruction" website-all while being the police chief of a tiny, small-town police force. A "big fish in a tiny pond" syndrome of the highest order IMHO, he is a chipmunk-faced asshole who now must pay the piper. His soul is the price.

http://www.gazettenet.com/2008/12/04/updated-pelham-police-chief-indicted-involuntary-manslaughter-gun-show-death-8yearold

It is not the first time that Fleury has had some involvement in a gun accident. In September 2003 he unintentionally fired a loaded gun while teaching a firearms safety course. Not realizing the gun was loaded, he pulled the trigger while demonstrating the proper shooting stance to six students. A bullet went through the wall of the community center and into a steel door frame. He gave the public a written apology about a week later in which he outlined safety measures he would implement, including using only designated demonstration weapons for classes.

Fleury told a reporter in 2002 that he and Sgt. Kevin Fournier taught about a half-dozen firearm safety classes a year and there were generally about 30 people in a class.

In his letter, Fleury said he was one of the first police officers in the area to be certified as a firearms instructor in 1982, and had taught gun safety to more than 1,000 people by 2003.

Kim Leahey, administrative assistant for the town, said selectmen would have no comment at this time and have not set a meeting to discuss a plan of action.

[bowens43]

4. Good! They need to be posecuted.

What kind of jackass would allow an 8 year old to shoot an automatic weapon?

[HopeHoops]

8. Oh, but it isn't just an automatic weapon - adults have trouble controlling this beast!

It has the nickname "fifty-fifty" because you are 50% likely to hit your opponent and 50% likely to kill yourself with it.

[damntexdem]

6. Guns don't kill people -- gun clubs do!

And the NRA has killed thousands.

[RamboLiberal]

19. That's a dumb statement unless you just forgot your sarcasm smilie

The majority of gun clubs are very safe with strict gun handling rules. And while I don't agree politically with a lot of the NRA stances, especially their support of Republicans, they do teach good classes on gun safety.

This club and the instructors who participated in this shoot deserve to be charged.

But you made a dumb broadbased smear!

[-..__...]

32. They have...

have they?

:eyes:

[HopeHoops]

7. The father should be charged as well. There's no excuse for this incident - none at all.

[No Elephants]

23. I agree. The police say the father has already been punished and also that he

did not know how dangerous the uzi was. However, the father is a gun fancier and said in the past that his son had fired a soimilar weapon before, also under the father's supervision. Further, the father has yet to show remorse. I am sure he is sorry his son is dead, but he has not yet blamed himself or said he was wrong. He is a prominent surgeon. If he were a janitor, I bet he would have been charged.

[walldude]

10. Rate of fire for the Uzi: 1700 rounds per minute

I wonder what they hunt with that....

[gatorboy]

11. Hummingbirds.

[Endangered Specie]

16. The second amendment...

isn't about hunting.

[Ian David]

21. As long as Blackwater has weapons, The American People need weapons.

However, even if Blackwater is using 8-year-old mercenaries, we don't need 8-year-olds playing with Uzis.

[walldude]

29. It's also not about giving a fucking machine gun to an 8 year old

You wanna play with guns? Fine use your fucking brains. You can argue the 2nd amendment till you are blue in the face, you will never come up with a valid argument for giving an 8 year old a fucking UZI.

[Pavulon]

30. Or an arc welder or OP based chemicals

this is all about human stupidity. The instrument here is a firearm. The instruments linked here vary from toxic pesticides to heavy equipment.

All fatal.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2413176

lethal instrument

[HopeHoops]

18. Fresh scrapple!

[crim son]

13. Look at his cute little face.

I cannot imagine surviving the loss of a child, especially one lost in this manner.

[Endangered Specie]

17. Realize, people calling for the father to be prosecuted...

considering he lost his child, hes bout suffered all you can make him.

[Ian David]

20. No, I think he could be made to suffer more. Let's put him on trial and find out. n/t

[Endangered Specie]

43. I find it funny how people on this board muster up sympathy

for convicted murderers about to be executed, but a dad who (with the help of others) does something extremely stupid to get his son killed... yeah lets make sure we torture him as much as we can!

Its just as much a fault as the guy who rented the gun, he was *with* the kid at the firing line and in charge of the gun, its in his name.

[ronnie624]

47. Is deceit necessary to make your point?

Opposition to capital punishment is because of the imperfection of the legal system, and an unwillingness to accept the execution of the innocent along with the guilty. It has nothing to do with sympathy for murderers.

[dugaresa]

45. i think some folks are a bit creeped out by how "cold" the father is

about the child's death.

If my child were killed in such a sudden and freakish way, I know that both my spouse and I would be inconsolable for a while. That man was interviewed and appeared to have no emotions whatsoever. No I am not judging him, some folks react that way, but it isn't the "norm" and therefore it makes people wonder what was going on.

[DS1]

22. I wouldn't have given my ~parents~ a micro-uzi when our family went shooting

The AK, sure, but that's not going to run away, and its recoil is much more directional.

[RamboLiberal]

24. A 15 year old was supervising the 8 year old shooting the Uzi

The 15-year-old boy who was supervising Christopher with the Uzi will not be charged, Bennett said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/04/national/main4648375.shtml?tag=topHome;topStories

Fleury is a moron!

[EFerrari]

25. Good.

[JonQ]

26. I think whoever was in charge of the gun

and the kid at the time should be charged with negligent homicide. I'm not sure if the gun club is really at fault, I guess I'd have to see more information on the subject. But if they were negligent in their duties then yes they should be punished as well.

[santamargarita]

27. How's the NRA spinning this one?

I'm sure they have some lame-ass excuse!

[JonQ]

28. Doubtful

the NRA isn't as big a fan of irresponsible gun ownership as some people seem to believe. They actually encourage gun safety, remarkable I know.

Of course if they do try to defend the actions of those responsible for handing the kid a gun and then failing to properly supervise him they'd be wrong and should be condemned for that stance. But wait until when/if they make such a statement before condemning them.

[-..__...]

31. How's the Brady Campaign spinning this one?

Looks like the same old "think of the gangbangers children" song and dance routine that they're constantly droning on about...

Indictment Of Gun Club
That Gave Child Machine Gun
Should Serve As Warning
To Gun Promoters Nationwide
For Immediate Release:
12-04-2008

Contact Communications:
[phone] Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence

Washington, DC - The indictment of Westfield Sportsman’s Club for running a “gun fair” with a machine gun shoot for children where an eight-year-old boy was tragically killed shows the need for strong laws to keep children and dangerous persons away from firearms. At the time of the shooting, the Brady Center issued a statement saying that the gun club’s actions appeared to violate Massachusetts law.

“It is only right that this club and these individuals are being held accountable for furnishing a machine gun to a child,” said Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence President Paul Helmke. “It should be obvious to any responsible adult that eight-year-olds should not be firing Uzi machine guns. We need common sense gun laws nationwide that keep children and dangerous people away from deadly firearms.”

Eight children and teenagers are shot and killed in an average day in this country, and 48 more are wounded. Over 3,000 children and teenagers are shot and killed every year in America. The rate of firearm death of children under 14 is nearly 12 times higher in the U.S. than in 25 other industrialized countries combined.

The Hampden County, Massachusetts District Attorney announced today that a grand jury indicted the Westfield Sportsman’s Club and three individuals with multiple counts of furnishing a machine gun to a person under 18 years old and involuntary manslaughter. The indictments stem from the tragic shooting of Christopher Bizilj, 8, of Ashford, Connecticut, at the Westfield Sportsman’s Club’s annual “Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo” on October 26, 2008. The club advertised that the “full auto rock & roll” was “legal and fun,” and that there was “no age limit or licenses required to shoot machine guns.”

The club was indicted under Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 140, subsection 130 which provides that “whoever sells or furnishes any alien or any person under eighteen years of age a… machine gun or ammunition… shall be punished by a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000, or by imprisonment in a state prison for not more than ten years or by imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than two and one-half years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.”

On October 28, two days after the tragic shooting, the Brady Center issued a statement saying it believed the Club had illegally supplied the child with the gun based on that section of the state criminal code. The Brady Center issued a press release that same day quoting Brady Senior Attorney Daniel Vice as saying “Massachusetts law specifically prohibits furnishing a machine gun to any person under 18.”

http://www.bradycampaign.org/media/release.php?release=1087

[Bombero1956]

33. Police Chief indicted in death of 8 year old at gun show

Source: Masslive.com

SPRINGFIELD - Pelham Police Chief Edward Fleury was indicted for involuntary manslaughter Thursday for his role in the death of an 8-year-old Connecticut boy who shot himself accidentally at a Westfield gun show in October.

Also indicted for involuntary manslaughter was the Westfield Sportsman's Club, where the death occurred, and two other individuals, identified in court records as Carl Giuffre, of Hartford, and Domenico Spano of New Milford, Conn.

Fleury and the sportsman's club were each also indicted on four counts of furnishing a machine gun to a person under 18.

Read more: http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/12/pelham_police_chief_indicted_i.html?category=Crime+category=Westfield

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It's just common sense that you don't hand an Uzi to an 8 year old.

[Ian David]

34. "It's just common sense that you don't hand an Uzi to an 8 year old."

Not to an 8 year old you wanna keep, anyway.

And in this case it's not just common sense, it's the law. Nobody under 18 was allowed to shoot a machine gun.

[Selatius]

35. I remember people rebuking me for daring to suggest maybe the gun show broke regulations.

Apparently, I've been vindicated.

[Bombero1956]

36. of course

the Repug state rep who's also a member of the club is coming to their defense.

[happyslug]

40. A "Micro-Uzi"??? That is as bad as the old Mac-10

Unlike the original Uzi, the Micro-Uzi is an under-sized, under weight machine pistol (Note I am NOT calling either a sub-machine gun, which is what the original Uzi was an is). One of the old joke by professionals who had used in the Mac-10 was it nicknamed the "Phone booth Gun" for you had to be in the same phone booth as the target to hit the target. These light weight guns are under weight and under size for automatic fire. The lack of weight makes them almost impossible to control even by a full grown man, let alone a 8 year old child.

Given this lack of control SWAT terms and other special forces units that decide to use a Sub-machine gun opt for the much larger and heaver MP-5 series of weapons. The military opts for the full size Uzi, do to it much cheaper price (Through less accurate, the greater accuracy of the MP-5 is the reason the MP-5 is so popular among special forces and police forces). In my opinion a eight year old child can fire a full Size sub machine gun, do it such weapon's greater weight (If the kid can keep the gun up and aimed at the target he can control the recoil, something I can NOT say of machine pistols like the MAC-10 or the Micro-Uzi). If the kid losses control, the weapon will tend to fall to the ground do to its weight NOT stay in the kid's arms and shoot the kid (and most full size weapons are designed for two handed use, machine pistols tend to be to smaller so it is harder for two hands to hold onto the weapon AND control the weapon - and for you pistols experts out there I know the two hand grip is the preferred grip even on a pistol, but such a grip is NOT as secure as the two hand and shoulder grip of a true rifle or sub machine gun).

Now I am NOT advocating anyone under age 12 handling any firearm, they are to small to handle most if not all firearms, but just commenting that if this had been a full size weapon this incident probably would not have happened. The problem is the weapon itself, it is unsafe even for an adult to handle let alone an eight year old kid, and for that reason alone the person holding this shoot should be held liable.

Side note on the Second amendment. The Second does NOT come into play here. The second permits ownership of weapons, but the miss use of such weapons was still held actionable under the law (i.e. you can NOT claim Second amendment if it clear your intention is criminal OR the liability is a result of the MIS-USE of such weapon i.e. you fired the weapon, you are still liable to what it hits, the Second did NOT affect that rule of law).

[Aristus]

41. When I think of the elaborate, repetitive and redundant safety precautions we had

to observe in Basic Training Rifle Marksmanship, and how dedicated the training cadre were to keeping all of us recruits safe, I can only agree that those colossal idiots are indeed guilty of criminal negligence.

[VaYallaDawg]

42. How true that statement is.

I had never fired a weapon in my life until going into the service - and the rigmarole and instructions they gave us about safety and using it properly damn near scared me to death - of course, I didn't have any choice, I had to learn to pass the required marksman's tests.

[slackmaster]

44. I was taught about firearms by a retired military weapons instructor

My stepfather served as a Radio Man during World War II. After the war he became an instructor, both in communications and basic rifle marksmanship.

My brother and I learned it the right way, and have passed the knowledge on to many others. I believe I have taught more than 100 people gun safety.

Most parents are totally unqualified to teach. Gun safety should be taught in public schools by compentent instructors.

[yardwork]

46. I agree that gun safety should be taught in schools by competent instructors.

A short list of other topics that children should learn in school:

1. Real education, taught by qualified instructors, in the human body, its development during adolescence, and how to avoid sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies.

2. Household financial management, including how to balance a checkbook, develop and manage a budget for household spending, and avoid unnecessary debt.

[slackmaster]

48. Amen to all that!

And I would like to see driver training brought back. At least here (San Diego) the schools dropped it about 20 years sgo.

[Paladin]

50. They'll Have To Drop Other Worthwhile Programs.....

...if they implement that gun instruction course that you and the rest of the gun militants are so horny for.

Will that gun course include special uniforms? Maybe a special salute? That's all we need: steps to make this a more militarized, fascistic country.....

[slackmaster]

51. All they really need to know is how to unload about three or four common types of firearms

The basic safety rules plus how to safely unload a revolver, a semiautomatic pistol, a pump shotgun, and a bolt-action rifle. All using non-firing dummy weapons.

They'll Have To Drop Other Worthwhile Programs.....

Like being contantly prepped for one set of tests to meet the requirements of NCLB, another for the state, more tests devised by school districts for their own reasons, plus quizzes developed by the teacher; then spending a signficant chunk of the school day taking tests?

I think the kids would enjoy two hours of something physical that is completely outside of their regular curriculum.

Will that gun course include special uniforms? Maybe a special salute? That's all we need: steps to make this a more militarized, fascistic country.....

The objective would be to immunize the kids against the danger posed by unsecured firearms. Those are an environmental hazard in real life, like drugs and sex and driving.