A 9 year old girl shooting a select fire Uzi submachine gun accidentally shot and killed the attendant range officer when the gun recoiled over her head at an Arizona range, according to the Associated Press:

DOLAN SPRINGS, Ariz. (AP) — A 9-year-old girl accidentally killed an Arizona shooting instructor as he was showing her how to use an automatic Uzi, authorities said Tuesday.

Charles Vacca, 39, of Lake Havasu City, died Monday shortly after being airlifted to University Medical Center in Las Vegas, Mohave County sheriff’s officials said.

Vacca was standing next to the girl at the Last Stop outdoor shooting range in White Hills when she pulled the trigger and the recoil sent the gun over her head, investigators said.

Authorities said the girl was at the shooting range with her parents. Her name was not released.

As an instructor, it can be difficult to make judgement calls on “how much gun” is safe for a new/small/young shooter to handle. Having said that, I think weapons with significant, continuous recoil impulses are perhaps not best mixed with young children.

My thoughts go out to the families of both the instructor and the young shooter. Stay safe, everyone.

H/T to Andrew, of VuurwapenBlog.