A deadly accident at a gun range in Arizona that left a shooting instructor dead is raising questions about whether young kids should be firing guns.

The incident happened Monday at the Last Stop outdoor shooting range in White Hills, Arizona.

Charles Vacca, 39, was showing a 9-year-old girl how to fire an Uzi. Vacca was standing next to the girl when she pulled the trigger and the recoil sent the gun over her head, investigators said.

The gun then fired, killing Vacca.

The gun range draws in tourists by telling them they can fire machine guns.

Vacca was airlifted to an area hospital, where he later died.

The incident has some questioning gun safety and whether it's appropriate for a child to handle heavy-duty weapons — or weapons at all.

At the Shooting Gallery Range, in Orlando, gun enthusiasts and instructors both said the accident was preventable. Age has little to do with it, they said.

"If it's a handgun, anybody can do that — an 8-year-old or a 12-year-old," said Thomas Martinez, a fire instructor. "But you are talking about a full automatic firearm."

Martinez is a former officer with the Miami Beach Police Department and a member of the National Rifle Association. He now trains others how to shoot weapons. He said different weapons are appropriate for different ages.

Steven Milcoff, a gun enthusiast, agrees.

"Totally not appropriate; totally not safe," Milcoff said.

Milcoff said his 14-year-old daughter, who weighs about 180 pounds and is about 5-feet, 8-inches tall, likely wouldn't be allowed to fire an automatic weapon.

Gun safety requires a great deal of forethought because there is no turning back after the trigger is pulled, Milcoff and Martinez said.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.