I am an advocate for many worthy causes. However, I abhor any type of violence, particularly associated with children.

Kamala Harris and CT Senator Chris Murphy recently took to the stage at the Democratic National Convention 2024 and spoke to their contributions in decreasing gun violence legislatively and being  ‘the voice of the people’....

As I watched Abbey Clements, a second grade teacher at the Sandy Hook Elementary School talk about her horrific ordeal , hiding in a closet with students during the  2012 massacre in Newton, Connecticut…

As I was in a store and saw numerous clear plastic backpacks…

I think of the tremendous fear and negative impact gun violence has had on our culture!  As a homicide survivor of 44 years, the vulnerabilities still hang on within my psyche.

The Short Life of Christopher Bizilj and the Uzi

It happened on Sunday, October 26, 2008, at the Westfield, MA  Sportsman's Club. The building is part of a 375-acre compound in Western Massachusetts that drew hundreds of people on that fateful day. The website promoted the event with boasts saying it would include "...machine gun demonstrations, rentals, and free handgun lessons."

"It's all legal & fun. No permits or licenses required!!!!" As for children, the Star Democrat Newspaper reported: "You will be accompanied to the firing line with a Certified Instructor to guide you. But You Are In Control "FULL AUTO ROCK & ROLL." Children under 16 would be admitted free, and adults and children were offered free .22-caliber pistol and rifle shooting.

It appears that there was another perfect storm of misinformation, incorrect assumptions, no quality control, and arrogance on the part of the police chief, eight-year-old Christopher Bizilj’s father, and others.

Massachusetts law, at the time, legally permitted children to fire a weapon if they had parental consent and were supervised by a certified instructor. But it did NOT apply to machine guns, which no one may fire under 18; NO exceptions.

What Happened on Sunday, October 26, 2008?

An eight-year-old boy from Ashford, CT, Christopher Bizilj, attended a gun show in Western Massachusetts   on a 375 acre compound with his father,  a physician, and Medical Director at the Johnson Memorial Hospital in rural CT. His father viewed it as ‘an educational event’ and okayed using an automatic machine gun despite not having the proper experience with this class of firearm.

Dr. Charles Bizilj, Christopher's father, was intent on videotaping his son and, at first, was unaware of what was happening. Gun experts stated that Christopher  was improperly holding the 9mm micro Uzi due to inexperience.

***The gun jammed several times while Christopher was attempting to shoot a pumpkin. This particular gun can fire 20 rounds/second, 120 rounds per minute. 

There was such a powerful recoil that Christopher lost control of the gun and unintentionally shot himself in the head once as his father videotaped!

What a horror show! How could this EVER occur? There are so many incredible twists and turns to this story!

• The Brady Center for Gun Violence reacted immediately after the event and stated, "It is unconscionable that the gun fair allowed and encouraged young children to fire machine guns," said Daniel Vice, a senior attorney with The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 

• Christopher reportedly had previously fired handguns and rifles. However,  the fatal error was allowing his son to fire a mini Uzi machine gun ,thinking  the small weapon had minimal recoil. How wrong he was! 

  Changes in child safety concerning firearms indicated the following:

• As of May 2021- Forbid sale to juveniles, addicts, or the mentally incompetent; Forbid the delivery of handguns to minors. After an extensive internet search, nothing is mentioned concerning children and attendance at gun shows! 

•  Massachusetts residents 15 years and older who wish to possess, carry, and transport firearms, ammunition, and feeding devices must have a firearms license. Municipal police departments issue firearms licenses.

• Any firearms safety instructor who knowingly issues a basic firearms safety certificate to a person who has not completed a firearms safety course shall be punished by a fine, of $5,000 to $10,000;  or prison up to two years!

 What Have We Learned Since 2008?

There have been 413 school shootings since Columbine (Washington Post); 

Gun deaths among U.S. kids rose 50% from 2019 to 2021(Pew Research Center);

From 2000 through 2022, there were a total of 328 casualties (131 killed and 197 wounded) in active shooter incidents at elementary and secondary schools ( National Center for Education Statistics)

The Charges 

Police Chief Edward Fleury was charged with involuntary manslaughter and wanton and reckless conduct, furnishing guns to minors ( up to 20 yrs), and ten years in prison for each of three counts of furnishing machine guns to children.

Michael Spano, a 15-year-old unlicensed non-certified instructor, assisted in helping Christopher's father said more than once that the gun he chose was “not a good idea because it shoots fast and kicks hard.”

MassLive reported that, 15 year old, Michael Spano's job was to run people through the line as smoothly as possible, as Chief Fleury didn't want the line to back up when it got busy.

Nothing to Brag About: The defense claimed Chief Fleury was NOT supervising the firing line, nor was he selecting weapons for the children. Instead, he was taking $5 from patrons at the gate.

Spano's father, Domenico Spano, New Milford, CT, and Carl Giuffre, Hartford, CT, brought the machine guns to the gun fair and had machine gun licenses. Both pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

Michael Spano also reported that several police officers saw children shooting machine guns at the event and never told anyone to stop or that it was illegalNo Personal Responsibility by Physician Bizilj

Dr. Bizilj appeared to take no personal responsibility. Initially, he called it a tragic accident and then decided to file a civil suit blaming Michael Spano and his lack of credentials. Finally, Dr. Bizilj signed a liability waiver saying he thought the event would be well supervised and safe.

A trustee of the Westfield Sportsman's Club told reporters, "This one got away from us… I am sick over it." However, he placed the blame on the ‘parental decision.’

Automatic Weapons 101

"An automatic weapon will fire when the trigger is pulled and keep firing until the trigger is released or the gun runs out of ammunition." 

• Officer Joseph F. Lech III of the Springfield Police Department and Range Master was in charge of weapons training at the event. He  cited the difference between automatic weapons and single shot or semi-automatic weapons. “All guns, when fired, will recoil or jerk slightly backward and up, he said. The shooter needs to lower the gun and re-aim after each shot.” 

• ***With a fully automatic Uzi firing up to 600 rounds a minute, the gun will recoil with each round fired. This continuous recoil will go back and up, back and up, back and up, back and up."

• If the person shooting the weapon is not prepared or does not have the physical strength to control the gun, the combined recoil can cause the weapon to jerk backward violently. 

•  The Israeli-made Micro UZI was introduced in the 1990s as a handgun-type version of its sub-machine gun brother. The Micro UZI is designed for the role of personal defense in combat units.   

•  A semi-automatic weapon fires one round each time the trigger is pulled. Per instruction, the shooter holds the shoulder stock tightly against the shoulder to counteract the recoil. Christopher did not have the gun in this position.  

  The Aftermath- 

• In 2010, the Sportsman's Club settled criminal allegations by agreeing to pay a $1,000 fine and donate $10,000 to children's charities following a wrenching victim impact statement by Christopher's mother found here" https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/plea-in-boys-uzi-death/1878145/;

• Christopher’s j parents filed a $4 million wrongful-death suit against several defendants in November 2010, alleging that the machine gun jammed twice, was defective, and inspected by an unqualified 15-year-old before the child attempted to fire it. The suit was settled for $700,000 in December 2010. 

• Dr. Bizilj intended to use the money to start a Foundation in Christopher's name for adventures for underprivileged children Christopher's recent activities, included hiking  the Alaskan glaciers, mining precious gems in Nevada, and learning to request gelato in Italian before Christopher died. The physician claimed  “The machine gun expo was yet another adventure.” Really??

No such fund could be located currently.

• A suit against ‘ the Sportsman's Club' indicated their policy excluded coverage for bodily injury arising from "activities performed by or on behalf of the insured, or operations necessary to the promotion and holding of gun or firearm shows."

The Two Week Criminal Trial-  & The Controversial Videotape- 

The jury had the horrendous task of viewing the videotape more than once made by Dr. Bizilj as Christopher was shooting. "When you look at the video,

 I ask that you take your time. It's unpleasant. It's your duty. Play it in slow motion," the judge said. Bennett said the video shows 15-year-old Michael Spano, who was supervising Christopher, wasn't paying attention. 

WWLP Channel 22 News Cast of Father's Testimony - (No Graphics)            1+ Minute https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAVCzmacfZc

The Verdict-

As of Friday, January 15, 2011, former Pelham Police Chief Edward Fleury was acquitted and declared innocent of all charges by the jury after the 27-month ordeal. He was  prevented from  further prosecution even if new evidence was discovered. Fleury was shaken, grateful, and said, "I'd rather be dropped into hell than go through this again." When asked, he said he was considering nursing as an alternate career. Really??

The Victim's Family- 

Christopher's mother, relatives, and friends attended court each day and quickly left after the verdict was read. They accompanied victim advocates to  the Hampden district attorney's office. Dr. Charles Bizilj  testified during the trial in its initial week, but did not attend the reading of the verdict.

****Note - Although the victim's family had been wronged, damaged, and left with a hole in their hearts forever after such violence, my research did not indicate any opportunity to deliver victim impact statements in the case of acquittal. A civil suit appears to be the only option. 

As of January 18, 2011, Special Prosecutor William M Bennet stated in each filing for defendants Spano and Giuffre that their conduct "was factually similar to that of his co-defendant Edward B. Fleury." However, the involuntary manslaughter charges were dropped for Connecticut defendants Domenico Spano and Carl Giuffre. Fleury contracted them to supply the machine guns.

After the verdict, Bennett said, "I still think it was important that we brought the charge. At the very least, we shut down machine gun shows. Although I am disappointed in the verdict, I would certainly do it again."

**Christopher's death inspired the State of Connecticut to pass a law the following year that banned children under 16 years old from handling or shooting machine guns.

Connecticut Legislation as a result of this tragedy-

***The law prohibits transferring, selling, or giving machine guns to minors under 16, including temporarily transferring the weapon to them for use in target shooting, on a firing or shooting range, or any other purpose (CGS § 53-202(c)). A violation is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment of five to 10 years, or both.

As one source stated, regarding Federal law, there are no existing laws as to minors' use of machine guns. "It's a very gray area."

In the Aftermath

• A Christopher Bizilj Memorial Fund was held in early December 2011 to    whose goal was to provide toys for Baystate Children’s Hospital  and to help continue the hospital's bereavement box program to assist parents in dealing with their loss. Their inaugural effort raised more than $2,000 for toys for patients at Baystate Children's Hospital in December 2010. No other press was located about this charity.

• Four months after the passing of Christopher, Dr. Bizilj wrote a self-published book to deal with his grief. The book, One Road Out: Heal After the Sudden Loss of a Loved One is described as a step-by-step guide to wading through the grieving process.The few reviews located  were ‘all over the map’, saying, "a wonderful book," Others saying "..arrogant and why isn't he in prison?" That's the public talking!

Where Is He Now? 

 As of 2023, Dr. Charles  Bizilj, Jr, is  an internal and Emergency Services MD.

 It appears he is still practicing in rural Connecticut, Ashford near the Mass border.

In Tribute-
Christopher never had a chance…. Although the wealth of his father helped  to introduce his children to exotic, unusual and yes, dangerous experiences… That was clearly  outweighed by the physician’s extreme arrogance and dismissive attitude which appears to be totally contradictory to the ethics and conduct of a physician! 

LET US CHERISH ALL CHILDREN AND ALWAYS LEAD THEM TO SAFETY! - Donna R. Gore