A Bullets and Burgers (an Arizona shooting range with a full service hamburger stand) arms instructor, Charle Vacca, 39, has died after a 9-year-old student accidentally shot him in the head.
Investigators say he was shot with an automatic Uzi around 10 a.m. Monday while teaching a 9-year-old girl to use the gun. When she pulled the trigger, recoil sent the weapon flying over her head and an undetermined number of bullets struck him in the head.
The girl was at the range with her parents, according to Las Vegas' Fox 5.
My Comment:
I am sorry for the little girl who now is traumatized.
I am sorry for the instructor and his family for the loss of life.
I am sorry for the parents who I suspect thought they were doing the right thing in bringing their 9 year old girl to "Bullets and Burgers"
Those three three thoughts coexist in me along with my belief that it is crazy to put that gun into a little girl's hands. I am 63. I have owned guns for most of my life. I was trained in NRA safety classes. I hunted. I competed. I protected my home. Our gun culture has made the crazy seem sane. I condemn the thinking that thinks of places like "Bullets and Burger" as family fun.
There is an Alternate Reading of these events posted at http://www.dailykos.com/... . I responded in the comment stream that follows. That in turn led to a discussion with several members of the community including the author of the diary. I made the following comment as a result of this.
"The author of this diary has written me a very nice comment explaining that he/she was not calling out my diary but wished to point out that there is a very human tragedy here which should not be forgotten. I accept that perspective and thank the author of this diary for making her/his intentions clearer. It was very gracious. I, in turn, said I should have asked for a clarification, before acting on an assumption. I Rec'd the comment and have now tipped this diary."