Aug. 27, 2014 9:29 p.m. ET
Shooting instructor Charles Vacca stands next to the 9-year-old girl. Mohave County Sheriff Office/Reuters
The death of a shooting instructor at an Arizona gun range when a 9-year-old girl lost control of a powerful automatic weapon has raised the issue of age limits at such operations.
The girl, on vacation with her parents at the Last Stop shooting range in White Hills, Ariz., accidentally shot and killed the instructor, 39-year-old Charles Vacca, while firing an Uzi submachine gun Monday, officials said. The Mohave County Sheriff's Office said the gun's recoil sent the weapon over the girl's head, its bullets striking Mr. Vacca, who stood next to her.
Mr. Vacca, who was shot in the head, was airlifted to University Medical Center in Las Vegas, where he died from his injuries Monday evening, the sheriff's office said in a statement.
Video of the incident released by the sheriff's office shows Mr. Vacca adjusting the girl's stance and then saying, "All right, now go ahead and give me one shot," apparently before the gun was set on fully automatic. With her back to the camera, the girl successfully fires a single round at a target.
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"All right, full auto," Mr. Vacca then says before the girl releases a series of shots, apparently losing control of the gun before the video ends.
The shooting touched off a debate on social media among gun-control advocates, parents and gun-rights supporters, with many questioning why the girl's parents would let her fire such a powerful weapon.
E.J. Montini, a columnist for the Arizona Republic newspaper, wrote: "Arizona law allows a minor to possess a weapon if accompanied by a parent, guardian or an instructor. But this type of weapon? It's time we asked ourselves: Why would a shooting range allow a kid to handle an automatic weapon? Why would a parent? And, most importantly, why would a state?"
Others expressed sympathy for the girl, but questioned why she was handling such a weapon.
Adam Winkler, a professor of constitutional law at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the author of the book "Gunfight: The Right to Bear Arms in America," said shooting ranges can adopt their own policies on how old a person has to be to handle their weapons.
"Generally there are no age restrictions to use a shooting range. As long as the minor is supervised by an adult, there are no laws barring minors from shooting firearms," Mr. Winkler said.
"There's nothing wrong with having children at gun ranges," he continued. "Shootings at gun ranges are freak accidents. They don't happen very often. Usually there's no place where shooters are more supervised than on a gun range."
However, he added, that it is unusual for a 9-year-old to fire an Uzi, because they are sizable, and "young arms might not be well equipped to handle the power of the firearm."
Gun usage is a sensitive topic in Arizona, which has strong laws supporting gun rights and where it isn't unusual for families to shoot together at ranges.
The state has been embroiled in recent high-profile gun debates—especially after the wounding of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in a 2011 mass-shooting in a Tucson strip mall that left the Arizona Democrat seriously injured, and six dead.
The Last Stop is a popular shooting range just south of the Nevada border near Las Vegas where patrons can fire a variety of weapons, some of which were used in movies such as "Jumanji" and "Rambo: First Blood Part II."
Sam Scarmardo, the gun range's operator, said his business abides by standards set by the National Association of Shooting Ranges, which suggest that no one under the age of 8 should enter a shooting range.
Mr. Scarmardo, who also owns Sam's Shooters Emporium in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., wasn't at the range when the accident occurred, but said Mr. Vacca had been working for him for a little more than a year. Mr. Vacca had served in the military and was still in the reserves, he said.
"Of course everyone is mourning," Mr. Scarmardo said. "Charlie is a brother."
Mr. Scarmardo said he and his staff will review their policies as federal officials investigate the incident. He noted that this was the first time anyone was injured on his ranges.
"We probably got close to 100,000 people that have shot between the two ranges in the last 14 years and several million rounds of ammunition and to date we've never even handed out a band aid," he said.
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