A shooting instructor at the Last Stop outdoor gun range in northern Arizona has died after accidentally being shot by his nine-year-old student. The young girl was learning how to use an Uzi submachine gun, and when she pulled the trigger, 39-year-old Charles Vacca got shot in the head by a stray bullet.
A shooting instructor at the Last Stop outdoor gun range in northern Arizona has died after accidentally being shot by his nine-year-old student.
The young girl was learning how to use an Uzi submachine gun, and when she pulled the trigger, 39-year-old Charles Vacca got shot in the head by a stray bullet.
The kickback of the firearm caused his student to lose control of where she was aiming, and the gun flew up over her head.
Vacca was quickly airlifted to University Medical Center in Las Vegas, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
Sam Scarmardo, the manager of the Last Stop Shooting range is quoted as saying: "I just ask everybody to pray for Charlie, and pray for the client, she’s going to have a hard time."
According to Scarmardo, the shooting range rules require clients to be a minimum of eight years old, with parental supervision.
This is reportedly the first accident to happen at the Last Stop shooting range.
A Phoenix based firearms safety expert said that most instructors would keep their hands on the weapon when a child is firing a high powered submachine gun.
