Police Chief, Club Indicted In Boy's Uzi Death

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- A gun club and a police chief whose company sponsored a gun show have been indicted for involuntary manslaughter in the death of an 8-year-old boy who accidentally shot himself with an Uzi.

Police Chief, Club Indicted In Boy's Uzi Death | Unedited: D.A. Discusses Uzi Indictments

Christopher Bizilj, 8, of Ashford, Conn., died after he lost control of a 9 mm Micro Uzi and shot himself in the head during the gun show at the Westfield Sportsman's Club on Oct. 26.

Pelham Police Chief Edward Fleury was indicted on a charge of involuntary manslaughter Thursday for his role in the Bizilj's death.

"When he lost control of the weapon, it came back at him and the muzzle of the gun got very close to his face," Hampden District Attorney William Bennett said.

The Westfield Sportsman's Club was also indicted on a charge of involuntary manslaughter, along with two other individuals, identified in court records as Carl Giuffre and Domenico Spano.

"This was a commercial enterprise. The club made money off the event and although the club cannot be punished by any type of jail (time), it can be fined and the statute allows for significant fines," Bennett said.

Fleury, Giuffre, Spano and the sportsman's club were each also indicted on four counts of furnishing a machine gun to a person under 18.

"(Bizilj) was not familiar with the characteristics of the weapon, and it appears he selected the Micro Uzi to fire because it was small and he did not realize that its small size actually made it more dangerous," Bennett said.

Fleury owns the COP Firearms & Training, which sponsored the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the club.

Bennett said Giuffre and Spano supplied the machine guns used at the sportman's club, but he said Fleury had assured them the action was legal.

"A Micro Uzi is made by and for the Israeli Armed Forces and is intended to meet the operational needs of Israeli Special Forces," Bennett said in a news release. "It is not a hunting weapon. It has a rate of fire of 1,700 rounds per minute."

The child was accompanied by a certified instructor and his father, who said he allowed his son to shoot the gun.

The machine gun shoot drew hundreds of people to the sporting club's 375-acre compound. An advertisement said it would include machine gun demonstrations and rentals and free handgun lessons.

"It's all legal & fun -- No permits or licenses required!!!!" reads the ad, posted on the club's Web site.

"You will be accompanied to the firing line with a Certified Instructor to guide you. But You Are In Control -- FULL AUTO ROCK & ROLL," the ad said.

The ad also said children under 16 would be admitted free, and both adults and children were offered free .22-caliber pistol and rifle shooting.

Bennett said the boy's father, Charles Bizilj, would not be charged.