9-year-old girl shoots Arizona shooting instructor in the head

USPA News - A 39-year-old shooting instructor in the U.S. state of Arizona was airlifted to hospital Monday after he was accidentally shot in the head by his 9-year-old student, local officials said on Tuesday. The victim`s condition was not immediately known.

The accident occurred at about 10 a.m. local time on Monday at an outdoor shooting range in Dolan Springs, a census-designated place in Mohave County, about 195 miles (314 kilometers) northwest of Phoenix. It happened when a 9-year-old girl was receiving shooting lessons at the business. "Investigators have determined a 9-year-old girl accidentally shot the instructor in the head," a Mohave County Sheriff`s Office spokesperson said. The office said the child was with her parents at the outdoor shooting range while the family was passing through Dolan Springs as part of a vacation. Authorities said the instructor, a 39-year-old man whose name was not released, was airlifted to a medical center in Las Vegas, Nevada. His condition was not yet known. "This investigation is ongoing," the spokesperson said. No further details about the shooting were immediately disclosed. Arizona gun laws generally require a person to be at least 18 years old to carry a firearm, but those laws do not apply on private property or if the minor is accompanied by a parent or a certified shooting instructor acting with the consent of the child`s parent. Gun rights are a hot topic in the United States, where the right to keep and bear arms is codified in the Second Amendment of the Constitution. A number of incidents, including a mass shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut in 2013, in which 27 people were killed, have prompted calls for tighter gun laws.