Well, I've read through this, and seen the video on the news (twice) last night. And here's my comments,
First off a terrible accident, and our prayers are for both families.
I'd like to point out that simply focusing on the child's age (in this case 9) is not seeing the forest but only a tree.
And while the overwhelming majority of 9 yr olds are not ready to shoot a full auto, there are some that can, and from comments in this thread, some that have, and do, without incident. So, categorically stating no 9 year old is capable/competent is a fallacy.
At the range, they rent machine guns, and for many, if not most people, its the only time in their lives that they will have that opportunity.
Customers assume it is all safely controlled, and, in general they are correct, however, we have this tragedy, (and the earlier one with the 8yr old boy) that prove even the best intentions at control and safety can fail.
There is no question in my mind that the instructor was at fault. Sadly, he paid the ultimate price for his mistake.
Full auto, as a group are no dangerous, mechanically than any other item that requires a minimum level of physical ability AND a minimum level of training to operate safely. They grab big headlines, and particularly with a child involved, really tug on the heart strings, but mechanically there are a huge number of things where an untrained child is a serious risk to operate.
Full auto, as a group has one feature, in particular that sets them apart from all other firearms, and that is the recoil. It is simply different than everything else, and while one can learn to manage it successfully and safely, it HAS to be approached differently than other systems.
A good system of training (starting with only one round in the gun, working up, etc.,) is a good way to begin. But that isn't the real issue here, either. We can discuss how a person, of any age, (physically capable of managing the weapon) should be trained, but that is a secondary issue.
My quals for my opinions? I'm not a full auto owner, or shooter, haven't been, since I got out of the Army. But I was a full auto user while I was in, and a machinegun repairman at that time, as well. Also, thanks to working with both our allies and some folks who are full auto owners and shooters, I have had the opportunity to fam-fire a number of full autos, from machine pistols to belt feds.
I think that one of the things that led to this tragedy is simple human nature, and the familiarity of the instructor with the weapon. And, by this I mean that when we are familiar with something, have done it many, many times, we get accustomed to it. One of the things ANY instructor has to constantly fight against is natural human (and usually subconscious) "knowledge" that we have about doing it (whatever it is) that beginners do not have.
Even though, on the surface we know the beginner doesn't know, its easy to be in the state of mind where the beginner's mistake come as a surprise to us.
The recoil of a full auto weapon is a surprise to a first time shooter. Firing even large numbers of single shots does not prepare you for the reality. It teaches you the recoil of single shots (a necessary first step) but does not go beyond that. Once you experience it, and have some idea, you can learn to control it, but until you personally experience it, no amount of instruction actually trains you. you can take driver ed, and learn things but until you get behind the wheel, and on the road, its not really real.
Uncle Sam taught me the M16A1 and the M60 in basic. No sweat. In my AIT, I learned the M14 (the original select fire version). It was a real eye opener for me. My first time with the M14 on full auto was on a performance test range, indoors, firing through a small port, on a level convenient for a kneeling or sitting position. 10rnds, full auto, short bursts! That was our instruction. I was quite confident, having fired thousands of rounds of .308 in bolt actions (literally, between 2-3 thousand in the years before I enlisted), so I felt pretty confident I knew what the recoil would be and could handle it.
Three previous shooters had all fired 2 shot bursts (fairly simple with the M14's trigger). I was going to show off a bit, and decided to fire a 3 rnd burst.
What I was unaware of was that the recoil feel is cumulative. You don't get over the first one before the second one hits you, and by the time the second one is pushing you, the third is on its way... (now, of course, the amount differs between designs and calibers, but its always there. Its most extreme in the M14, because of the light for caliber weight, and cyclic rate)
My "3 rnd" burst was 6 rounds, and moved me from a kneeling to a sitting position!!! My weapon did not, come out of the firing port. That much control I kept. My DI glared at me, and firmly stated "SHORT BURSTS!" Very much chastened, the remaining rounds were fired as 2 shot bursts, without incident.
I thought I knew what I was doing. I'd been shooting rifles a lot for several years before joining up. I was fortunate to get such a relatively painless education.
NO child, without experience (and likely a number of adults without specific full auto experience) knows what they are doing, and hasn't built up a skill set to deal with it.
Such people can safely fire full auto weapons, but the range environment must be hyper controlled. This is what the instructor in this incident failed to do, and tragedy was the result.
Its not the weapon, or the age of the child that let it happen, it was the failure of the instructor to anticipate what might happen, and act accordingly.
Also, seeing someone else do it (particularly when they are experienced) doesn't prepare you for what reality is. It's a start, but only that.
A young friend of mine (19) watched me shoot my T/C Contender .45-70. Even say me fire it off hand, one handed. When he shot it, the first time, he got wacked in the nose during the recoil. He had done a fine job locking wrists, but his elbows weren't prepared. We had a good laugh, cleaned up the blood from his nose, and he asked to do it again. The next time, and all other times, he never got hit by the gun again.
The particular gun, and the experience of the shooter meant that the instructor was in position of risk, and likely never realized it. There are ways these things can be done, and done safely. Sadly, in this case, they weren't.
