BEIJING, Oct. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- The death of an 8-year-old U.S. boy who accidentally shot himself in the head with an Uzi at a gun fair has raised many questions again about the country's gun control system, according to media reports.

    On Sunday, Christopher Bizilj of Ashford, Conn., lost control of the submachine gun while firing it with an instructor watching at the Machine Gun Shoot & Firearms Expo at a sportsman's club in Westfield, Massachusetts, police said.

    As the third-grader fired the Uzi, "the front end of the weapon went up with the backfire and he ended up receiving a round in his head," police Lt. Hipolito Nunez said. The boy died at a hospital.

    Although police called the death a "self-inflicted accidental shooting," officials were investigating whether the gun fair followed state laws.

    It is legal in Massachusetts for children to fire a weapon if they have permission from a parent or legal guardian and are supervised by a properly certified and licensed instructor, but gun control advocates said the boy should never have been allowed to fire the military-grade weapon.

    "An Uzi or AK-47 should never be in the hands of an 8-year-old. It's a weapon of war. It's used on a battlefield by trained soldiers," said Jerry Belair, legislative director for Stop Handgun Violence, a Massachusetts nonprofit.

    The boy's father, Charles Bizilj, told the Boston Globe that he gave permission for his boy to fire the Uzi. He was about 10 feet behind his son and reaching for his camera when the weapon fired.

    Bizilj said his son had fired handguns and rifles before, but Sunday was his first time firing an automatic weapon.

    The machine gun shoot drew hundreds of people from as far away as Maine and Virginia. The flyer for the event advertised free admission for those under 16 and free pistol and rifle shooting for kids.

    "It's all legal & fun -- No permits or licenses required!!!!" reads an advertisement posted on the club's website.

    Wayne Sampson, executive director of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association said this death raises the question: Should there be a minimum age to be on a firing range?

    "There are plenty of gun laws on the books. You can't legislate stupidity. Having an 8-year-old shoot a machine gun is beyond all bounds of understanding and comprehension," Sampson said.

    (Agencies)