Newly released 911 audio paints a vivid sound picture of the desperate scene at an Arizona gun range where a 9-year-old girl accidentally shot her instructor with an Uzi, killing him.
It was also revealed Tuesday in a police report that the girl told investigators the gun was too much for her and that it had hurt her shoulder.
Her distraught parents, Alex and Alison Maclachlan, told investigators their attention was first focused on their daughter, who appeared to be hurt from the weapon's recoil, and did not realize that Charles Vacca had been shot until one of his colleagues ran over.
911 caller: I have a gun range officer that got shot in the head ... We're at Arizona Last Stop.
Operator: Is he breathing?
Caller: Yes, he's having convulsions.
The dispatcher advises the caller to keep pressure on the head wound, and to not remove a towel being used to staunch the bleeding. The caller is told to just place another cloth on top of it.
In the background, voices can be heard saying, "Keep breathing, keep breathing. Come on, keep breathing."
At one point, a man can be heard saying, "I don't think he's going to make it."
Vacca died after being airlifted to Las Vegas hospital.
The family, whose hometown hasn't been revealed by investigators, had taken a shuttle on Aug. 25 from Las Vegas about 60 miles south to the Last Stop range in White Hills, Ariz. Once arriving there, the girl, her parents, a sister and a brother took a monster truck ride before heading out to the shooting range.
The girl's father was the first one in the party to handle a weapon. After the father fired shots, Vacca showed the girl how to shoot the gun, showed her a shooting stance and helped her fire off a few rounds.
Then, he switched the weapon to automatic, and stepped back and let her hold the Uzi by herself. She fired the gun, and its recoil wrenched the Uzi upward, striking Vacca in the head, according to the report.
The girl dropped the Uzi and Vacca fell to the ground.
At first, the family focused on the girl, who was holding her shoulder. Another instructor rushed over to help Vacca. The other children were then taken away from the range, according to the report.
Prosecutors are not filing charges in the case.
WARNING GRAPHIC LANGUAGE
County prosecutors say the instructor was probably the most criminally negligent person involved in the accident for having allowed the child to hold the gun without enough training. They also said the parents and child weren't criminally culpable.
Kevin Walsh, a New Jersey attorney for the Maclachlan family, said in a statement, "Words cannot express the family's sadness about the accidental shooting of Charles Vacca. They prayed day and night that he would survive his injury, and they continue to pray for his family during this terribly difficult time. (The Maclachlans) also asks for the public's prayers for their own family."
With News Wire Services
On a mobile device? Click here to watch the video.
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1qZav0M
0 comments:
Post a Comment