The 9-year-old girl from New Jersey who accidentally killed her shooting-range instructor with a mini-Uzi in Arizona last week said the gun “was too much for her,” according to a police report released today.

The report released by the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said the girl fired the fatal shot after 39-year-old instructor Charles Vacca adjusted the weapon to an automatic setting. She lost control of the gun when it recoiled, and the family initially rushed to her aid, thinking she had been injured.

"(The mother) said the gun went off and saw (the girl) drop the gun. (The girl) turned to her and told her the gun was too much for her and it hurt her shoulder," the report said.

The family failed to realize that Vacca had been shot until another instructor, who had noticed that he had fallen and was bleeding from the head, rushed toward him, according to the report.

Paramedics arrived to find Vacca still breathing and moaning as two men applied pressure to the wound. He died at a Las Vegas hospital later that night.

The girl's parents issued a statement Monday, saying they were "devastated" by the incident.

The New Jersey couple said they prayed "day and night" that the instructor would survive the injuries he suffered after being shot in the head at Bullets and Burgers, a gun range off Highway 93 in White HIlls, Arizona.

“They are devastated by this accident that turned what was supposed to be a unique and brief excursion from their summer vacation into a life changing tragedy,” they said through their Newark attorney Kevin G. Walsh.

Police reports did not disclose the parents' hometown. Walsh, an attorney with Gibbons PC, declined to say where they lived in New Jersey or elaborate on their statement.

“All I can tell you is that everything is day to day. Beyond that, the family’s privacy is our paramount concern, so we’re doing everything we can to protect that,” he said.

According to the sheriff's report, the family was vacationing in Las Vegas, and took a shuttle bus to The Last Stop Burger and Bullets, a recreation area that included the range and a restaurant. They arrived at around 9:45 a.m. and took a ride on a monster truck before being escorted to the shooting area.

The girl’s father fired the first rounds from the mini-Uzi before handing it over to his daughter, the report said. The girl successfully fired at least two rounds before Vacca switched the gun into the automatic setting. Upon firing again, a sharp recoil caused the girl to “lift the gun up towards her left shoulder and towards Vacca’s head”, according to the report.

Multiple rounds were discharged, and Vacca immediately fell backward after being struck, the report said. The girl’s family stood just a short distance behind, where her mother was taking video on a cell phone.

After realizing Vacca had been hit, the girl’s parents rushed her, a sister and a brother into a nearby restaurant and away from the grisly scene.

Detectives attempted to obtain liability waivers signed by the family prior to the incident, but staff informed them that they had been blown away by the wind, according to the report.

Mohave County Sheriff’s Office representatives have announced that they do not plan to file charges related to Vacca’s death.

The incident became national news after Vacca’s death, providing new fuel to the debate over laws governing the ownership and use of firearms.

The family acknowledged the firestorm in its statement, asking for compassion even as “certain people…seek to use this tragedy for their own partisan purposes and agendas”.

Last week, Last Stop operator Sam Scarmardo told Arizona television station KTNV that Bullets and Burgers allows children as young as 8 years old to shoot firearms.

"We instruct kids as young as 5 in .22 rifles," he said. "They’re under the supervision of their parents and of our professional range masters."

Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.