In a touching video, the children of Charlie Vacca extend their thoughts to the young girl who accidentally killed their father while he was teaching her to fire an Uzi a few weeks ago at a range.
We’re Charlie Vacca’s kids and we wrote this letter to the little girl. We don’t know your name, but we are connected by this tragedy. In the news we are just called “the family,” “the 9-year-old girl,” “the Instructor,” but we do have names. Our names are Ashley, Elizabeth, Tyler, and Christopher. We are Charlie Vacca’s kids. We wanted you to know something about him.
Our dad wasn’t just an instructor. He was funny, strong, a protector, a hero and our friend. He was a good man.
You’re only 9 years old. We think about you. We are worried about you. We pray for you. And we wish you peace. Our dad would want the same thing.
Like you, we are living through this tragic event that we cannot shut off. It’s with us all the time.
Our dad would want you to know that you should move forward with your life. You should not let this define you. You should love yourself and love your family.
Some day we hope we can meet you, hug you, and tell you that it’s okay.
The incident was captured on cell phone video, and the instructor was rushed to the hospital after being shot, but died later that evening.
The video was released by the family’s attorney here.
