Prosecutor Opens 8 Year Old Boy's Uzi Death Case at Machine Gun Shoot

[RamboLiberal]

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — "Reckless and illegal actions" by a former police chief led to the accidental death of a boy who shot himself in the face with an Uzi submachine gun at a gun show, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

But others, including the boy's father, made the fatal decisions, a defense attorney said.

Former Pelham Police Chief Edward Fleury, whose company co-sponsored the event, has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and furnishing a weapon to a minor in connection with the 2008 death of Christopher Bizilj (buh-SEEL') of Ashford, Conn.

"As a direct result of that reckless and illegal behavior, Christopher died," District Attorney William Bennett said in his opening statement to the jury in Hampden Superior Court.

http://www.countytimes.com/articles/2011/01/04/news/doc4d238c5deedfd761752731.txt

SPRINGFIELD – The lawyer for former Pelham police chief Edward B. Fleury says the father of 8-year-old Christopher Bizilj and those who oversaw the shooting range at the Westfield Sportsman's Club in October 2008 should be held accountable for the boy's death.

The argument came during opening statements in Hampden Superior Court at Fleury's trial on an involuntary manslaughter charge.

Hampden District Attorney William M. Bennett told jurors that Fleury actions were illegal in allowing an 8-year-old boy to fire a machine gun and the chief should be held criminally responsible for the boy's death.

Fleury’s lawyer, Rosemary Curran Scapicchio, told jurors in her opening statement Fleury is being improperly blamed for the boy's death.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/post_151.html

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"Fleury represented that it was all legal and fun," Bennett said. "The evidence will show that one of the purposes of Fleury's enterprise was to furnish machine guns to children."

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Then Christopher went to fire the gun. Bennett said an unlicensed and uncertified 15-year-old boy was helping Christopher. The teenager gave the Uzi to Christopher and had one hand on the boy and one on the gun, Bennett said.

"It was illegal to allow that child to have the weapon in the first place," Bennett told the jury. "Christopher is not capable of controlling this weapon. You will learn that this weapon fires 1,200 rounds per minute.

"He (Christopher) puts his finger on that trigger. It flips back. The small size of the gun makes it possible for the muzzle to come right back into his face," the prosecutor said.

Bennett said a bullet went through Christopher's face.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/04/AR2011010401622.html

Judge says media can show video of accidental Uzi shooting of 8-year-old Christopher Bizilj at Edward Fleury trial


SPRINGFIELD - The media will be given access to the videotape of 8-year-old Christopher Bizilj accidentally shooting himself in the head at a Westfield gun show in 2008.

Over the objections of prosecution and defense lawyers, Judge Peter A. Velis on Monday said there is no legal reason to prohibit media access to the video.

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During a hearing on Monday which preceded the judge’s ruling on media access to the videotape, Fleury’s lawyer, Rosemary Curran Scapicchio, predicted the video will “go viral” on the Internet once it is broadcast by media outlets. Once that happens, she said, the jury will not be able to escape being tainted.

“Once it goes viral no one has control over it anymore,” Curran Scapicchio said. She said the video will likely be shown all over the world and will become the subject of numerous national talk shows from all political persuasions.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/judge_says_media_can_show_vide.html

Club settles charges in boy's Uzi death

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - A Massachusetts sporting club has settled charges in the accidental death of an 8-year-old Connecticut boy who shot himself with an Uzi during a 2008 gun fair at the club.

The Westfield Sportsman's Club pleaded no contest Thursday to involuntary manslaughter and agreed to a $1,000 fine, the maximum it faced under state law.

A second charge of furnishing a weapon to a minor will be dropped after a year if the club donates $10,000 to children's charities in the name of Christopher Bizilj.

Prosecutors and the boy's family agreed to the plea deal.

http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/news/local/hearing-in-boys-accidental-uzi-death

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. Everybody lost that day.

Some much more than others.

[RamboLiberal]

2. Video of the opening arguments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJwv4vdmVUo

[RamboLiberal]

3. Gun club official testifies in boy Uzi death trial

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - An official of the gun club where an 8-year-old Connecticut boy accidentally killed himself with an Uzi submachine gun at an exhibition has testified he wouldn't have allowed the child to fire the weapon.

Joseph Paul spoke under cross-examination Tuesday by the defense lawyer for a former police chief who co-sponsored the 2008 show. Edward Fleury has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter in the death of Christopher Bizilj (buh-SEEL') of Ashford, Conn.

Paul was the last prosecution witness on the trial's opening day. He said Fleury promoted the show and arranged for people to bring machine guns. Safety meetings were held to prepare. Paul said volunteers were responsible for safe gun-handling on firing ranges.

http://www.wggb.com/Global/story.asp?S=13783459

[safeinOhio]

4. It's the law.

"It was illegal to allow that child to have the weapon in the first place," Bennett told the jury.

This is an example of a "reasonable law". Yes, it is a "gun control" law too.

[PavePusher]

5. Was it illegal for him to use it....

under adult supervision?

Noting that the person "supervising" was NOT an "adult".

I am not aware of any law that says a child under age X may not use firearms at all.

[safeinOhio]

6. That is exactly what I said.

There was a "gun control" law that prohibited that child from firing a full auto at that meet without being under the supervision of an adult. The trial is about breaking a law. I never said there was any law stating a child under age X could not fire a weapon. I think that there are laws that prevent just anyone from owning or possessing a full auto without proper registration and license.

[PavePusher]

8. My apologies, was reading too fast. n/t

[Recursion]

7. That is a gun control law I find perfectly reasonable

And it's unfortunate that we have such an on-point demonstration of why it's a good idea.

[Euromutt]

12. Well, what if we were dealing with a tripod-mounted GPMG/MMG/HMG instead of a tiny SMG?

Frankly, a design like the Micro-Uzi (the weapon in question), which is small, light, has a comparatively massive cyclic rate of fire, and is thus difficult to control in the best of circumstances, is an extreme example, even for sub-machine guns. I've fired a full-size Uzi during my military service period, and that's significantly heavier with less than half the rate of fire, and is thus eminently more controllable. And with a tripod-mounted gun, there would be zero chance of an incident like this occurring. So it strikes me that this law might be a "good idea" for specific models of automatic weapon, but it's a bit overbroad (not to mention rather vague, as I've noted elsewhere, in using the term "furnish" without specifying what it means for purposes of the statute).

[Euromutt]

9. I'm not inclined to rely on the prosecuting counsel for an unbiased opinion on the law

The job of interpreting the law falls to the judiciary, not the executive branch of government, and the prosecuting counsel is part of the latter. Much of problem is that Massachusetts state law uses the rather ambiguous term "furnish," as in "it is illegal to furnish a machine gun to a minor," and it's less than clear whether "furnish" goes beyond permitting a minor to have possession of/control over the firearm without immediate supervision, and includes allowing a minor to handle and fire the weapon while under adult supervision.

Maybe it does, but I for one will not accept what the law means on the say-so of a prosecuting attorney. In fact, the entire legal system doesn't do that, which is why we have a judiciary in the first place.

[Atypical Liberal]

10. Very, very sad.

A very sad situation. A child was given a firearm he should not have been allowed to shoot. No doubt dad, having let his 11-year-old shoot it, his 8-year-old wanted to do it, too. Tragedy.

From the articles:

>Ms. Scapicchio said Charles Bizilj decided to bring his sons to the machine gun
>shoot, signed their names to the liability waiver form and picked out the Uzi.

and

>Ms. Scapicchio also said state law at the time allowed minors to temporarily
>hold machine guns, as long as they were with a licensed person and on a firing range.

It does not sound to me like you can really criminally fault anyone here.

The father signed the liability waver and picked out the firearm he wanted his children to shoot. The law said this was legal.

It's tragic, but no more so than if he had allowed his son to go swimming and he drowned.

[Atypical Liberal]

11. Oh man...

The article says that the father was recording video when his son shot himself in the head.

Talk about Kodak moments you don't want.

[RamboLiberal]

13. 2nd Day Trial didn't start till 2PM

SPRINGFIELD - Jurors did not see a videotape Wednesday of the accidental fatal shooting of 8-year-old Christopher Bizilj at a Westfield gun show taken by Charles Bizilj, the boy's father because of a last minute objection by a defense lawyer.

William M. Bennett, who is prosecuting the involuntary manslaughter case against Edward B. Fleury, called Gary Hobaica of Feeding Hills to the witness stand Wednesday.

Hobaico worked with Dr. Charles Bizilj in a Hartford hospital and went with Bizilj and his family to the machine gun shoot at the Westfield Sportsman's Club. He testified that Charles Bizilj was videotaping his son's shooting.

Bennett was preparing to play the video to the jury when Fleury's lawyer appealed to the judge, saying Hobaica can't prove the video reflects what took place since he didn't take the video. Judge Peter A.Velis said he agreed that the tape couldn't be introduced through Hobaica.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/witness_stand.html

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - A video of an 8-year-old boy accidentally killing himself with an Uzi submachine gun at a Massachusetts gun fair is expected to be shown Thursday to a jury in the manslaughter trial of a former police chief whose company co-sponsored the show.

The Hampden Superior Court jury is also expected to hear testimony Thursday from the boy's father, who videotaped the 2008 incident at a Westfield firing range.

http://www.wggb.com/Global/story.asp?S=13789952

[RamboLiberal]

14. Family friend testifies in Uzi death trial - Trial Video

A second day of testimony in the trial of former Massachusetts police in the death of child at a gun show. 8-year-old Christopher Bizilj died when he accidentally shot himself with an uzi.

Today, the jury heard from a man who was at the gun fair where the Bizilj died. Gary Hobaica works with the boy's father. He told the court he took pictures as Christopher's brother fired the weapon with no problems.

http://www.necn.com/01/05/11/Family-friend-testifies-in-Uzi-death-tri/landing_newengland.html?blockID=385649&feedID=4206

He does testify another weapon did not seem to function well when the older brother was firing it and same happened to Christopher which caused him to switch to Uzi that killed him.

[RamboLiberal]

15. More testimony from family friend

SPRINGFIELD – Dr. Charles Bizilj and his two young sons had planned their outing to a machine gun expo at the Westfield Sportsman’s Club for nearly a month.

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Hobaica, who worked with Charles Bizilj at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs, Conn., said he had shown the doctor a promotional flier for the exposition about a month before the event. He testified that he, the elder Bizilj and the boys had been to shooting ranges on prior occasions.

-----

When they arrived at the sportsmen’s club that morning, Hobaica recalled for the jury how there were throngs of people lined up to purchase ammunition so they could fire an array of weapons.

“Were there other children there?” former District Attorney William M. Bennett, who is prosecuting the case, asked the witness.

“Yes, lots of other children,” Hobaica responded. “We decided to wait until the lines died down to start our experience.”

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/edward_fleurys_jury_told_plans.html

[RamboLiberal]

16. Day 3: Edward Fleury jurors gasp upon seeing video of Christopher Bizilj shooting self

SPRINGFIELD - What was expected to be the ultimate moment in the ongoing trial of former Pelham Police Chief Edward Fleury lasted but several seconds.

The video showed 8-year-old Christopher Bizilj aiming at a target with a "micro Uzi," that briefly jammed, before he took aim again. The gun recoiled violently and a bullet ripped through the child's head. Prosecutor William M. Bennett abruptly stopped the tape but the image of the impact prompted jurors to flinch and one female panelist to gasp audibly.

Family members of Bizilj could be heard weeping in the courtroom. Fleury, who hosted the 2008 machine gun expo where the accidental shooting occurred, bowed his head briefly. Bizilj's father, who had shot the video and was on the witness stand late this afternoon, closed his eyes.

Christopher Bizilj's mother, Suzanne, who has been present during three days of testimony, left the courtroom sobbing as the tape was cued.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/edward_fleury_jurors_gasp_upon.html

3:50 p.m.: Bizilj acknowledged he accepted the Micro Uzi when it was given to his sons. He acknowledged filing a lawsuit against the sportsman's club, the Connecticut men who brought the guns and Fleury's company. In that he said Micro Uzi was defective and Fleury was negligent. He said he knows the suit was resolved last month, but said he didn't know what the sum was. Scapicchio asked if he knew it was $700,000, and he said he didn't know the amount.

Under questioning from Bennett Bizilj said the amount from the suit will be used to build a foundation to enable kids to do some of the things that Christopher has been able to do and other kids have not.

3:45 p.m.: Copies of the waiver signed by Bizilj for his family are distributed again to jurors.

Scapicchio said: "Death, do you see that?" referring to the list of risks on the form. Bizilj said he did. Bizilj acknowledged his signature released liability of Fleury's company and the sportsman's club.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/trial_of_edward_fleury_for_uzi.html

[RamboLiberal]

17. Day 4: Teen gun supervisor says he warned victim's father about Uzi

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - A teenager who supervised an 8-year-old boy who shot himself with an Uzi submachine gun at a 2008 gun fair says he told the boy's father that "it wasn't a good idea" to let the boy fire it.

Michael Spano testified Friday in the trial of Edward Fleury, whose company co-sponsored the Massachusetts club exhibition. Fleury has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and other charges in the death of Christopher Bizilj (buh-SEEL') of Ashford, Conn.

Spano said he offered the micro Uzi because Dr. Charles Bizilj wanted his sons to shoot an automatic weapon, and a regular Uzi the father had picked out was failing to fire in automatic mode. Spano said he told Bizilj the smaller gun "shoots fast and kicks hard."

Spano said under cross-examination from Fleury's lawyer that he trusted the father to make the decision.

http://www.wggb.com/Global/story.asp?S=13802463

News Blog of day 4: http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/trial_of_edward_fleury_for_uzi_1.html

[benEzra]

18. Where was the adult instructor?

The father obviously didn't know that the Micro is one of the hardest full autos to control, that the very short barrel and large rotational moment make letting it get out of control much more hazardous than with a typical full auto, and that even most adults would have trouble controlling a long burst.

Where was the adult instructor who should have been telling the dad this? Automatic weapons are so restricted in this country that even experienced gun owners often know little about the more esoteric models, and the dad was obviously operating under the assumption that if it was smaller and fit the child better, it must be more suitable for a child to shoot (which is certainly true of a lot of non-automatic long guns, but is not true of centerfire full autos and especially short-barreled subguns).

[RamboLiberal]

19. The owner of the guns (which I take is the 15 year old's father)

Should've been the one controlling who fired the guns IMHO.

Still the father was supposedly warned. Hard for a teenager to stand up against an adult.

During Spano's testimony today he said that he warned Christopher's father about the gun prior to giving it to Christopher. Initially Spano had offered Christopher a gun that shot only one round at a time, but Dr. Bizilj asked him to give his son a fully automatic weapon that would shoot continuously, Spano said.

The teenager said he suggested for a second time that a non-automatic weapon would be better for the boy, but the father dismissed his concern.

"You trusted Mr. Bizilj to make the best decisions for his children?" defense attorney Rosemary Curran Scapicchio asked. Spano said he did.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/father-christopher-bizilj-died-firing-uzi-urged-son/story?id=12565132

[benEzra]

20. I agree. (n/t)

[PavePusher]

21. I touched on this briefly in the other thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=118&topic_id=353426&mesg_id=353477

[Euromutt]

22. Bit of an internal contradiction in the testimony there

If Spano Jr. thought "it wasn't a good idea" to let the deceased fire a Micro-Uzi, why did he offer that particular weapon in the first place? I've seen other people's videos from the event, and they at least one table practically covered with SMGs. If the full-size Uzi wasn't firing properly, there must have been some other 9mm gun that was more controllable than a Micro-Uzi (e.g. an MP5, which I know they had).

[RamboLiberal]

23. Well you have a big shoot with a lot of people on the line

The other guns may not have been available at the time. I read that that the adults in this party had fired the MP5.
Maybe they didn't want to wait till another gun became available. The older boy had fired a longer Uzi but it was jamming.

[PavePusher]

24. There seems to be a hint of "smaller would be easier" floating around...

from the victims father, but it's possible I'm interpolating that from the arc of our conversation here.