Highland Park shooting victim sues gun maker Smith & Wesson

Smith & Wesson’s marketing strategy for firearms makers Fired at Highland Park Parade on July 4th.

The lawsuit focuses primarily on Smith & Wesson, but also includes the suspect, his father, and the gun shop that sold the weapon authorities identified in the shooting.

The lawsuit’s main allegation is that the gun manufacturer behind the M&P 15 semi-automatic rifle illegally targeted young men at risk of violence in firearms advertisements.

Shooting at parade in Highland Park outside Chicago 7 dead and nearly 40 more injuredEverytown Law, law firm Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, and Brady, along with additional law firms, announced the lawsuit at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.

“It simply didn’t have to happen,” Romanucci & Brandin’s Antonio Romanucci said at a press conference on Wednesday. Because we knew that these marketing and sales practices promoted and sold an image that would address and attract individuals in the same way shooters do.”

Liz Cubseed, who was shot in the pelvis while shooting, is the primary plaintiff suing the manufacturerHer lawsuit claims the company should have known about the ad Her attorney said, “Impulsive people with a hero complex and/or militaristic delusions who are attracted to using the particularly high lethality of AR-15 style weapons to effectively execute their fantasies.” It will appeal to young people who are young,” he said.

According to the complaint, Smith & Wesson’s ads mimicked the first-person shooter perspective depicted in many popular video games, utilizing visuals believed to be of military and law enforcement personnel, and portraying gun combat. Emphasize function.

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“The above advertising and marketing tactics are used by Smith & Wesson to knowingly market the rifle to civilians for illegal purposes, including to carry out offensive military combat missions against perceived adversaries, It shows that we advertised and advertised,” her attorney argues.

Lauren Bennett, who attended the parade with her husband and sons aged 6 and 9, was shot twice in the hip and back during the parade.

“My family and I demand full accountability from all those responsible for the terror, physical and emotional pain, and unimaginable nightmares that now define our lives.

Lawsuits against gun manufacturers related to mass shootings face a number of legal hurdles due to the Lawful Arms Trade Protection Act of 2005.

However, the lawsuit against Smith & Wesson follows a similar approach to that against the families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School murders. Received $73 million settlement from Remington Firearms Company It may have been the largest settlement of its kind that manufactured the rifles used in the shooting.

The family of the Sandy Hook victim alleged that Remington violated Connecticut’s consumer protection law by selling guns to young people who were at risk of violence.Attorney in the Heart of Sandy Hook Village I sent a letter to the AR-15 makers in June. Used on behalf of the father of one of the victims in the Uvalde Elementary School shooting, seeking answers on marketing their products to teens and children.

In addition to the shooter and his father, Smith & Wesson, the victims are also suing Red Dot Arms, the gun store where the shooter purchased his weapons, and Bad’s Gun Shop, an online gun retailer. ing.

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Prosecutors say 21-year-old Robert E. Crimo III confessed to the shooting when he was arrested by police. He is currently facing 21 counts of first-degree murder, 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery.Climo III and his father Robert Climo Jr., who sponsored the application for a state firearms license in 2019 when their son was under 21, are also named in the lawsuit.

apart from Multiple warning signs before shooting — Videos posted by the perpetrators during two police visits in 2019 covering nihilistic themes about guns, school shootings, suicide and death — Climo At least five guns were legally purchasedIncluding the Smith & Wesson M&P15 semi-automatic rifle accused of being used in the attack.

Contributed by Associated Press