CNN
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The family of a victim and several survivors of a mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis have filed a lawsuit against the companies involved in the production, marketing and sale of the high-capacity magazine used by the gunman who killed 8 people and injured others in 2021. .
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 claims the companies recklessly marketed and sold their products to impulsive young people at risk of violence.
The gunman in the April 15, 2021 attack, Brandon Hole, 19, was previously employed at the unit and opened fire on his former colleagues before killing himself. About a year before the attack, Hole browsed white supremacist websites, CNN previously reported. His mother contacted police in March 2020 because she was concerned about his behavior and threatening statements he made after purchasing a gun, according to police.
The suit was filed on Thursday on behalf of the estate of Jaswinder Singh, who was killed in the shooting, Harpreet Singh, who was injured, and his wife Dilpreet Kaur, and Lakhwinder Kaur, who was also injured in the attack. They are each seeking at least $75,000 from the suit and are requesting a jury trial, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit targets American Tactical Inc., an American importer, manufacturer and seller of firearms, along with the company’s president and director of marketing and purchasing. Schmeisser GmbH, a German firearms manufacturer; and 365 Plus doo, a Slovenian company that designs, manufactures and distributes firearms accessories and other tactical equipment are also listed as defendants.
The three companies were involved in the production, marketing and sale of high-capacity 60-round magazines that “were used repeatedly to slaughter and terrorize Americans in horrific mass shootings well before April 2021,” it said In procces.
The lawsuit alleges that these companies made these magazines easily accessible to Hole and directed their marketing campaign to “a consumer base filled with impulsive young people who feel they must harm others to demonstrate their power and who have militaristic delusions to fight in a war. or a video game.”
“This case is about what happens when companies recklessly design, market, sell, and distribute these accessories to the general public — without discrimination — and without taking reasonable precautions,” the lawsuit states.
American Tactical declined to comment to CNN about the lawsuit. Attorneys for the other defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Schmeisser GmbH manufactured the magazine used in the mass shooting and distributed it in the U.S. through American Tactical and 365 Plus, the lawsuit alleges.
“The large magazine capacity encouraged the shooter to commit the attack, knowing he had the ability to fire 60 rounds continuously without having to stop to reload,” the lawsuit says.
The complaint says American Tactical promoted marketing videos showing men wearing tactical vests similar to what Hole wore during the 2021 attack as they fired “a steady stream of bullets at unseen targets in various offensive, tactical operations.” .
The lawsuit alleges that the firearms companies brought an “unreasonably dangerous product to market without sufficient safeguards to prevent its foreseeable unlawful use.”
The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the gun control advocacy organization that employs two of several attorneys representing the plaintiffs, wrote in a statement to CNN that the nonprofit “is trying to get justice for these survivors and their families and to owns American Tactical, Inc. . responsible 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 who you sell them to. As we allege in our complaint, the defendants here instead took a heavy turn and specifically marketed their highly lethal products to a dangerous class of individuals,” said Philip Bangle, Brady Center Senior Litigation Counsel.