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The family of a victim and several survivors of the mass shooting at the FedEx facility in Indianapolis filed a lawsuit against companies involved in the manufacturing, marketing and sale of the high-capacity magazine used by the gunman who killed 8 people in 2021 and injured many others. ,
The federal lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, targets a gun distributor and magazine manufacturers, and alleges the companies negligently marketed and sold their products to impulsive youth at risk for violence.
The gunman in the April 15, 2021 attack was 19-year-old Brandon Hole previously worked at the facility and opened fire on his former co-workers before killing himself. About a year before the attack, Hole browsed white supremacist websites, CNN first reported, According to police, his mother contacted police in March 2020 because she was concerned about his behavior and the threatening statements he made after purchasing the gun.
The suit was filed on behalf of Jaswinder Singh, who was killed during the firing on Thursday, Harpreet Singh and his wife Dilpreet Kaur, who were injured, and the estate of Lakhwinder Kaur, who was injured in the attack. According to the complaint, they are each seeking at least $75,000 from the lawsuit and are demanding a jury trial.
The lawsuit targets American Tactical Inc., an American firearms importer, manufacturer and seller, as well as the company’s president and director of marketing and purchasing. Schmeisser GmbH, a German firearms manufacturer; And 365 Plus Do, a Slovenian company that designs, produces and distributes firearm accessories and other tactical equipment, is also listed as defendants.
The lawsuit says all three companies were involved in the manufacturing, marketing and sale of 60-round high-capacity magazines that were “repeatedly used to kill and terrorize Americans in horrific mass shootings long before April 2021.” Has gone.”
The lawsuit claims that these companies made these magazines readily available to the public and targeted their marketing campaigns at “a consumer base filled with impulsive youth who feel they have to prove their prowess.” There is a need to harm others and those who have militaristic delusions of fighting in the war. Or a video game.”
“This case is about what happens when companies design, market, sell, and distribute these goods to the general public recklessly – indiscriminately – and without following proper safety measures,” the lawsuit says.
American Tactical declined to comment to CNN about the lawsuit. Lawyers for the other defendants did not immediately respond to requests.
The lawsuit claims that Schmeisser GmbH manufactured the magazine used in the mass shooting and distributed it in the US through American Tactical and 365 Plus.
“The magazine’s high capacity encouraged the shooter to attack, knowing he had the ability to fire 60 rounds continuously without needing to stop to reload,” the lawsuit states.
The complaint says a marketing video promoted by American Tactical shows men wearing the same tactical vests that Hole wore during the 2021 attack as they “continuously fire bullets at invisible targets in a variety of offensive, tactical operations.” Were showering.”
The lawsuit alleges that gun companies “introduced an unreasonably dangerous product to the market without adequate safeguards to prevent its potentially illegal use.”
The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the gun control advocacy organization that employs two of the many attorneys representing the plaintiffs, wrote in a statement to CNN that the nonprofit “stands in solidarity with these survivors and their families.” “We are trying to achieve justice for American Tactical, Inc. and hold them accountable for their irresponsible marketing and sales practices.”
“If you decide to sell such highly lethal products to the general public anyway, you have to be very careful about who you sell them to. “As we allege in our complaint, the defendants here have taken a heavy-handed approach and have marketed their highly lethal products specifically to a dangerous class of individuals,” said Philip Bangle, senior litigation counsel at the Brady Center.