Oct 27, 2008 08:59 AM
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WESTFIELD, Mass. – An eight-year-old boy has died after accidentally shooting himself in the head while firing an Uzi submachine-gun at a gun fair in Massachusetts.
Police say the boy was under adult supervision when he lost control of the weapon and shot himself in the head.
Police Lt. Lawrence Valliere says the incident happened Sunday at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club in Westfield, Mass.
Valliere says the boy was with a certified instructor and "was shooting the weapon down range when the force of the weapon made it travel up and back toward his head."
The victim, not yet identified, was taken to Baystate Medical Center where he died.
Although the death appears to be an accident, officials say police and the Hampden district attorney's office are investigating.
The club said on its website that the event was "all legal and fun" and would allow people to fire weapons at vehicles, pumpkins and other targets.
Officials with the private club and the firearms group could not be reached for comment Monday. A message left on a club answering machine was not returned.
The sportsman's club was founded in 1949 and describes itself on its website as an organization that promotes "the interest of legal sport with rod, gun, and bow and arrow, both directly and through training."
It has eight firing ranges as well as archery and fishing facilities located on 150 hectares in Westfield, about 160 kilometres west of Boston.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WESTFIELD, Mass. – An eight-year-old boy has died after accidentally shooting himself in the head while firing an Uzi submachine-gun at a gun fair in Massachusetts.
Police say the boy was under adult supervision when he lost control of the weapon and shot himself in the head.
Police Lt. Lawrence Valliere says the incident happened Sunday at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club in Westfield, Mass.
Valliere says the boy was with a certified instructor and "was shooting the weapon down range when the force of the weapon made it travel up and back toward his head."
The victim, not yet identified, was taken to Baystate Medical Center where he died.
Although the death appears to be an accident, officials say police and the Hampden district attorney's office are investigating.
The club said on its website that the event was "all legal and fun" and would allow people to fire weapons at vehicles, pumpkins and other targets.
Officials with the private club and the firearms group could not be reached for comment Monday. A message left on a club answering machine was not returned.
The sportsman's club was founded in 1949 and describes itself on its website as an organization that promotes "the interest of legal sport with rod, gun, and bow and arrow, both directly and through training."
It has eight firing ranges as well as archery and fishing facilities located on 150 hectares in Westfield, about 160 kilometres west of Boston.
