Edward Fleury Acquitted in Machine Gun Shooting Death of Christopher Bizilj

A Massachusetts jury today acquitted a former police chief in the death of an 8-year-old Connecticut boy who accidentally killed himself while firing an Uzi submachine gun at a gun show.

The Hampden County Superior Court jury found former Pelham Police Chief Edward B. Fleury not guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Christopher Bizilj and also cleared him of three counts of furnishing a machine gun to minors, The Associated Press reported.

Edward B. Fleury, right, meets the media after a jury in Hampden Superior Court Friday afternoon found him not guilty on one count of involuntary manslaughter and three counts of furnishing machine guns to minors.

Michael S. Gordon, Springfield Republican

Edward B. Fleury, with his lawyers, Rosemary Curran Scapicchio, left, and Amy L. Codagnone, meets the media after a jury on Friday afternoon found him not guilty of involuntary manslaughter and three counts of furnishing machine guns to minors stemming from an October 2008 machine gun show he organized where an 8-year-boy was accidentally killed.

Christopher, 8, along with his father and 11-year-old brother, attended the seventh annual Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo in Westfield on Oct. 26, 2008, according to CBS's Crimesider. During the event, Christopher and his brother stepped up during an Uzi demonstration.

After watching his brother shoot, Christopher was handed a Micro Uzi submachine gun. When he pulled the trigger, the gun recoiled and turned upward, sending a bullet into the boy's head. The shooting was caught on videotape by Christopher's father.

The boy was later pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center.

Fleury was charged in the case because his company, C.O.P. Firearm and Training, had organized the gun show.

Prosecutors argued that Fleury was criminally reckless because he allowed children to shoot machine guns under the supervision of a 15-year-old, who did not have a machine gun license and was not a certified instructor. The defense maintained the shooting was accidental and noted Christopher's father had signed a liability waiver, according to the AP.

When the verdict was read, Fleury, who had been facing a total of 50 years behind bars, cried and hugged his attorney and his family. Christopher's relatives left the courtroom without commenting, Boston's WCVB-TV reported.

Two others, Carl Giuffre and Domenico Spano, have also been charged in Christopher's shooting. The men are accused of supplying the Uzi that the boy shot. They have both pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.