Arizona gun instructor Charles Vacca was accidentally shot and killed by his student, a 9-year-old girl, with a fully automatic Uzi on Monday, Aug. 25. The shooting, captured on video, quickly went viral. Although the young girl’s name was never disclosed, she has become the subject of numerous arguments on gun control, education and the dangers of raising children in the modern world.
What immediately sticks out to me about this story is the personal consequences of the situation. While issues like whether we should have even been handing a 9-year-old an Uzi in the first place are certainly important, I found myself questioning how the child could be feeling in the aftermath of this terrible event.
Vacca’s family issued a statement to the girl and her family, expressing their sympathy and willingness to forgive her. One of Vacca’s daughters, Elizabeth said, “I wanted to make sure they didn’t spend a big portion of their life surrounding it around this one incidient.”
It is impressive how kind and genuine the Vacca family has conducted themselves in light of such a tragedy. Of course, because the shooting was an accident, it would be hard to imagine the family showing a grudge or spite towards the girl. Still, it’s admirable to see the family coming forward in an attempt to make things right.
Unfortunately, it might not be enough.
Despite best wishes from the Vacca family, I imagine a very significant portion of this girl’s life will revolve around the ultimate action. While we could debate in circles about exactly who was to blame for the incident, or whether it’s even morally sound to be teaching children how to use automatic weapons, it won’t change the fact that this poor little girl killed her instructor.
Sometimes, I find it amazing how little credit we owe to children, how much we simply assume they won’t understand. We have no idea how she might have reacted after the Uzi in her hands went off, but I imagine a girl of 9 years old would have some notion of what she did. Perhaps she will find some small comfort in knowing this family will forgive her for what she’s done, but what is being overlooked is whether she will be able to forgive herself.
Eventually, the story of a little girl accidentally shooting her instructor will fade from the public mind. New tragedies will emerge, and the debates will continue to rage on about what we can do to fix the numerous problems in our society. Surely, we will forget. I feel that time will not be so gracious to this girl and to the Vacca family. While those impacted will never forget, hopefully someday they will make peace with what has happened and can move on from a girl, a gun and an innocent life taken.