9-Year-Old Girl Kills Shooting Instructor

Claim:   A nine-year-old girl accidentally shot and killed a shooting instructor with an Uzi at a gun range in Arizona.

TRUE

Examples:   [Collected via email, September 2014]

Origins:   On 25 August 2014, shooting instructor Charles Vacca died in an accident at the Last Stop range in White Hills, Arizona. Vacca, a shooting instructor, was working with a family at the gun range when he was shot in the head by a nine-year-old girl firing an Uzi.

According to police reports, Vacca initially helped the child — who has remained unnamed in the news — fire the submachine gun. However, when the girl fired the weapon alone the recoil tilted the gun upwards. Initially, her parents believed the recoil had injured the child, failing to immediately realize Vacca had been shot.

Frantic 911 calls placed by witnesses at the gun range in the aftermath the Uzi accident document a valiant effort to stabilize Vacca and save his life. Although Vacca was evacuated by helicopter to a trauma center, he died a few hours later.

Sam Scarmardo, operator of the Last Stop range in White Hills, confirmed on 2 September 2014 children over the age of eight were typically permitted to fire guns at the range if their parents or guardians signed waivers. Scarmardo denied any safety problems resulted from the policy prior to the incident involving the nine-year-old girl and the Uzi, but added the range is reviewing the policy in light of Vacca's death.

After Vacca's died of his injuries, the girl's family released a statement expressing their sorrow. Via a lawyer, the child's parents said:

The Mohave County Sheriff's Office confirmed the nine-year-old's mother inadvertently captured video of the fatal shooting of Charles Vacca with her iPhone. A portion of the footage, shown above, has been released to the public.

Last updated:   3 September 2014