PHOENIX — The accidental shooting death of a firing-range instructor by a 9-year-old girl with an Uzi has set off a powerful debate about youngsters and guns, with many people wondering what sort of parents would let a child handle a submachine gun.
Instructor Charles Vacca, 39, was standing next to the girl Monday at the Last Stop range in White Hills, Ariz., about 60 miles south of Las Vegas, when she squeezed the trigger. The recoil wrenched the Uzi upward, and Vacca was shot in the head.
Investigators said they do not plan to seek charges.
Gerry Hills, founder of Arizonans for Gun Safety, a group seeking to reduce gun violence, said that it was reckless to let the girl handle such a powerful weapon and that tighter regulations regarding children and guns are needed.
''We have better safety standards for who gets to ride a roller coaster at an amusement park,'' Hills said. Referring to the girl's parents, Hills said: ''I just don't see any reason in the world why you would allow a 9-year-old to put her hands on an Uzi.''
The identities of the girl and her family have not been released.
Sam Scarmardo, who operates the outdoor range in the desert, said Wednesday that the parents had signed waivers saying they understood the rules and were standing nearby, video-recording their daughter, when the accident occurred.
Investigators released 27 seconds of the footage showing the girl from behind as she fires at a black-silhouette target. The footage, which does not show the instructor being shot, helped feed the furor.
''I have regret we let this child shoot, and I have regret that Charlie was killed in the incident,'' Scarmardo said. He said he does not know what went wrong, pointing out that Vacca was an Army veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan.
In 2008, an 8-year-old boy died after accidentally shooting himself in the head with an Uzi at a gun expo near Springfield, Mass. Christopher Bizilj was firing at pumpkins when the gun kicked back. A former Massachusetts police chief whose company co-sponsored the gun show was later acquitted of involuntary manslaughter.
Two gun experts said Wednesday that the types of firearms a child can handle depend largely on the strength and experience of the child — though the notion of giving a 9-year-old a fully automatic Uzi made some queasy.
''So much of it depends on the maturity of the child and the experience of the range officer,'' said Joe Waldron, a shooting instructor and legislative director of the Washington State Rifle and Pistol Association.