WESTFIELD (AP) - An 8-year-old boy died after accidentally shooting himself in the head while firing an Uzi submachine gun under adult supervision at a gun fair.

The boy lost control of the weapon while firing it Sunday at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club, Police Lt. Lawrence Valliere said. Police identified the child Monday as Christopher Bizilj of Ashford, Conn.

Christopher was with a certified instructor and "was shooting the weapon down range when the force of the weapon made it travel up and back toward his head, where he suffered the injury," a police statement said. Police called it a "self-inflicted accidental shooting."

The boy was taken to Baystate Medical Center where he died.

Although the death appears to be an accident, police and the Hampden district attorney's office were investigating, officials said.

District Attorney William Bennett declined to comment until the investigation was complete.

"We are going to review all the circumstance regarding what happened, who was involved, what authorities they may or may not have had, who was supervising," Bennett said.

It is legal 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, Lt. Hipolito Nunez said.

Those conditions were met in this case, he said. He declined to release the supervisor's name.

The Westfield club said on its Web site that the event, run in conjunction with COP Firearms & Training of Amherst, is "all legal and fun" and people would be allowed to fire weapons at vehicles, pumpkins and other targets.

Officials with the private club and the firearms group could not be reached for comment. A message left on a club answering machine was not returned. The Amherst COP group's machine clicked off without taking a message.

The sportsman's club was founded in 1949 and describes itself on its Web site as an organization that promotes "the interest of legal sport with rod, gun, and bow and arrow, both directly and through training."

It has eight firing ranges as well as archery and fishing facilities located on 375 acres in Westfield, about 100 miles west of Boston.

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On the Web:

http://www.westfieldsportsman.com

http://www.copfirearms.com