CNN
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The family of a victim and several survivors of a mass shooting at a 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 and injured several others in 2021.
The federal lawsuit, filed in the US District Court in the Western District of New York, targets a gun distributor and magazine manufacturers and alleges that the companies recklessly marketed and sold their products to impulsive young men at risk of violence.
The gunman in the April 15, 2021, attack, Brandon Hole, 19, was previously employed at the facility and opened fire on his former coworkers before killing himself. About a year before the attack, Hole visited White supremacist websites, CNN reported. His mother contacted the police in March 2020 because she was concerned about his behavior and threatening statements after he purchased a gun, according to the police.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday on behalf of the estate of Jaswinder Singh, who was killed during the shooting, Harpreet Singh, who was injured, and his wife Dilpreet Kaur, and Lakhwinder Kaur, who were also injured in the attack. They each seek at least $75,000 from the lawsuit and request a jury trial, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit targets American Tactical Inc., an American firearms importer, manufacturer, and seller, along with the company’s president and the director of marketing and purchasing. Schmeisser GmbH, a German firearms manufacturer, and 365 Plus d.o.o., a Slovenian company that designs, produces, and distributes firearms accessories and other tactical equipment are also listed as defendants.
The three companies were involved in the manufacturing, marketing and sale of the 60-round high-capacity magazines that “have been used repeatedly to slaughter and terrorize Americans in horrific mass shootings since long before April 2021,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit claims these companies made these magazines easily accessible to Hole and targeted their marketing campaigns to “a consumer base filled with impulsive young men who feel they need to harm others to prove their strength and who have militaristic delusions of fighting 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—indiscriminately—and without adherence to reasonable safeguards,” the lawsuit reads.
American Tactical declined to comment to CNN about the lawsuit. Lawyers for the other defendants did not immediately respond to requests.
Schmeisser GmbH manufactured the magazine used in the mass shooting and distributed it in the US through American Tactical and 365 Plus, the lawsuit alleges.
“The high capacity of the magazine emboldened the shooter to commit the attack, knowing he had the ability to fire 60 rounds continuously without the need to pause to reload,” the lawsuit states.
The complaint says American Tactical promoted marketing videos showing men dressed in tactical vests similar to what Hole wore during the 2021 attack firing “a constant stream of bullets at unseen targets in various offensive, tactical operations.”
The lawsuit alleges that the firearm companies introduced an “unreasonably dangerous product to the 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 lawyers representing the plaintiffs, stated in a message to CNN that the non-profit is “seeking justice for these survivors and their families and holding American Tactical, Inc. accountable for their irresponsible marketing and sales practices.”
“If you choose to sell such highly lethal products to the general public regardless, you need to be very cautious about who you sell them to. As we claim in our complaint, the defendants here have instead targeted and marketed their highly lethal products to a dangerous group of individuals,” said Philip Bangle, the Brady Center’s senior litigation counsel.
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