Report: Uzi Too Powerful For 9-Year-Old New Jersey Girl Who Shot Instructor

The 9-year-old New Jersey girl who accidentally killed a shooting range instructor with an Uzi said the gun was too much for her to handle and it ”hurt her shoulder,” according to a Mohave County Sheriff’s Office report released to Patch on Wednesday.

The parents, Alex and Alison MacLachlan, immediately removed the girl and their other two children from the property and brought them to a nearby restaurant to shield them from the tragedy, the report states.

The shooting instructor died last month nearly 10 hours after he was accidentally shot by the 9-year-old New Jersey girl.

Charles Vacca, 39, of Arizona suffered at least one gunshot to the head around 10 a.m. at the “Bullets and Burgers” shooting range, according to the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office.

The New Jersey parents prayed that the instructor would survive the injuries after being shot. “They are devastated by this accident that turned what was supposed to be a unique and brief excursion from their summer vacation into a life-changing tragedy,” the family said through their Newark attorney, Kevin G. Walsh, according to NJ.com.

The girl’s hometown was not released.

The girl, who was vacationing from New Jersey, fired the weapon at the outdoor range where patrons also enjoy a meal at the “Bullets and Burgers” shooting range about a half-hour south of Las Vegas.

Mohave County Sheriff Jim McCabe said the girl successfully fired the 9 mm weapon several times when it was set in single-shot mode, but lost control when it was put into fully-automatic mode. McCabe said no charges will be filed,.

The New Jersey family had been vacationing in Las Vegas; on Aug. 25 and had taken a ride on a monster truck before heading to the shooting range, according to the report.

The girl’s father was the first to fire the weapon, and then it was is daughter’s turn; the girl started to shoot the weapon, and the recoil sent it straight up into the air and “crossed the path where Charles had his head,” according to the report.

A police officer arrived on the scene and saw Vacca laying on the ground behind two tables. Vacca was still breathing and moaning while he lay on the ground with two men applying pressure to the head wound, according to the report.

The Mohave County Sheriff’s Department also released 911 calls that show the panicked attempts to save Vacca’s life:

“I have a gun range officer that got shot in the head … we’re at Arizona Last Stop,” a breathless male voice said.

Dispatcher: “Is he breathing?”

Caller: “Yes he is, he’s having convulsions. You need to send EMS right away.”

A snapshot of a Las Vegas Review-Journal video displaying the shooting range activity is included with this story.

Click here to read the original story.