Yeah, bowling and shooting, they are definitely in the same category aren't they. That's why you get all that drive-by bowling in downtown LA, because they are equally dangerous. Oh wait, no.
An adult may have been able to control the firearm in question, an 8 year old would not have. Quite frankly I question why anyone should be able to fire a weapon like that which had fairly poor support, without prior experience.
a bowling ball to the head is just as dangerous as a bullet...