It depends on the jurisdiction, I'm sure, but couldn't the father be prosecuted for child neglect?

Although, my bleeding heart liberal side does say "hasn't he suffered enough?" This isn't like the stories you hear about parents who don't feed their kids for three days because they're off on a bender; this is more of a tragic accident that could have been prevented type thing.

What in God's name was any kid being trained to use an UZI for? Guns are dangerous objects. There are so many activities for parents and kids to do together that can't possibly end up in death, why expose kids to this?

I support the right to bear arms, but not to let little kids practice shooting Uzis. This is not Iraq where everyone belongs to a militia and has a weapon and needs to know how to use it. We are a land of hunters and teaching children of a realistic age how to handle a hunting weapon safely is fine, but this is crazy.

Today another shooting at another campus. Viewed from a global persepctive, America is gun crazy and frightening.

My prayers are with the family, but I hope this opens their eyes to the folly of eight year old kids training on Uzis. Their pain must be unbearable.

I think it was probably more like letting the kid "experience" firing an automatic weapon v. "training" him. Which is actually kinda worse if you think about it.

Maybe such "experiences" should include going down to the morgue to see some fatal gunshot wounds up close and personal.

He was with his father and a "Trained instructor"...

This puts a stark white light on the inadequacies and reliance on "trained instructors". We have our own similar situation in TN with respect to concealed carry permit instruction. Who governs the adequacy of the training and the trainers?

Criminally negligent homicide charge in the offing, I'll wager.

And rightfully so.

What sort of idiot allows an 8-year-old to fire (much less to handle) a fully automatic weapon?

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the distance between black & white is much further than i would like until now i never noticed that fascism has many disguises -d. boon, 1981

It sounds to me as if the child was unable to control the weapons muzzle climb. The micro uzi has cyclic rate of fire of 1700 rpm is quite high. The weapon's muzzle probably (and this is speculation on my part,) while being fired, climbed up and toward the child's head/face.
Releasing the trigger would have stopped the weapon from firing but the natural inclination of people is to grip the weapon even tighter; and that includes the finger on the tigger. I saw this happen when I was in the Army. One nitwit tried to shoot a M-60 machinegun (cyclic fire rate of only 550 rpm) one handed (ala Rambo II) and the weapon did a full 180 away from downrange and toward the range tower in back of us. Luckily no one was hurt. The officers and NCO's made his life miserable for the next month and the rest of us luaghed at him and never let him forget it.
When I was trained with M-16 (and later the M-60) we were initially given magazines loaded with only 5 rounds. The purpose was to shoot 2-3 round burts. The purpose being that with a 5 round magazine you would get two bursts. Only until we had that down pat were we given 10 round magazines. Only much, much later were we allowed 30 round magazines. I have a feeling that this child was allowed to fire a micro Uzi with a full magazine. Sublime stupidity.

Take Care, Be Good and don't play in the street!

SteveMule