A 9-year-old on vacation with her family accidentally killed a gun range instructor while she was learning to fire a submachine gun at a range in Dolan Springs, Arizona.
The instructor, 39-year-old Charles Vacca, was shot in the head and airlifted to a nearby hospital where he died from his injuries.
Authorities released cell phone footage of the moments just before the fatal shots were fired. The young girl is seen standing next to Vacca as he gives her instructions. She fires a single shot from the Uzi, an Israeli-made submachine gun, at a target but when she attempts to fire multiple rounds the gun is seen recoiling over her shoulder in the direction of Vacca.
The range, Bullets and Burgers, promotes itself via Facebook as a place where, “Our guests have the opportunity to fire a wide range of fully automatic machine guns and specialty weapons. You choose the guns which you want to shoot from our extensive collection and we provide the eye/ear protection, ammunition, and expert guidance.”
Bullets and Burgers owner Sam Scarmardo told KLAS:
“We really don’t know what happened. Our guys are trained to basically hover over people when they’re shooting. If they’re shooting right-handed, we have our right-hand behind them ready to push the weapon out of the way. And if they’re left-handed, the same thing.”
The report went on to say that Vacca was married, well liked and a veteran.
