Topline
The families of three elementary school students who survived the Robb Elementary School mass shooting in May filed a lawsuit in federal court in Texas on Wednesday, accusing the Uvalde school district, local law enforcement officials and gun companies of “negligent, careless and reckless” decisions that made the shooting possible.
Families of three students at the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde filed a lawsuit … [+]
Key Facts
The plaintiffs in the suit, one of whom had a child wounded in the shooting, named 10 people and organizations as defendants, including Oasis Outback, which allegedly sold two assault rifles to gunman Salvador Ramos even though he had the “appearance, demeanor and display of a young school shooter,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit also named Daniel Defense, the company that made the rifle used by the Uvalde shooter, alleging it had engaged in “reckless marketing and business practices,” as well as Firequest International, which makes accessory trigger systems that the lawsuit called “unreasonably dangerous and illegal.”
The parents castigated the sluggish police response to the shooting and argued the school was complacent about enforcing security rules: They sued former school district police chief Pete Arredondo, who was fired in August, plus the city’s then-acting police chief Lt. Mariano Pargas and Robb Elementary School principal Mandy Gutierrez.
Parents also sued Motorola Solutions, claiming the communications equipment used by law enforcement on the scene was defective and “unreasonably dangerous,” and named Schneider Electric, which purportedly manufactured the door at Robb Elementary School that failed to lock before the shooter used it to access the building.
The parents sued the plaintiffs for negligence, product liability, intentional infliction of emotional distress and several other claims, and are seeking unspecified damages.
Key Background
A Texas House of Representatives committee report in July—two months after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School—found the slow response by law enforcement was the result of “systemic failures” and “egregious poor decision making.” More than 375 federal and state law enforcement officers responded to the shooting, but they waited more than an hour to confront the 18-year-old gunman, according to the report. Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw called the response an “abject failure” with “terrible decisions” made by the police chief in his testimony before the state senate.
Contra
Arredondo had previously defended his conduct, telling the Texas Tribune he did not feel as though he was in charge of the response effort to the shooting. Meanwhile, school principal Gutierrez—who was suspended after the shooting—has denied claims that the school was complacent about security.
Tangent
Daniel Defense, which manufactures AR-15-style rifles, drew controversy after the Uvalde shooting for its sometimes-provocative advertising. However, a federal law keeps gunmakers relatively protected against lawsuits filed by victims of gun crimes by granting them a limited exemption.
Further Reading
Uvalde School Police Chief Steps Down From City Council Amid Criticism For Mass Shooting Response (Forbes)
Uvalde School Shooting Response Plagued By ‘Systemic Failures,’ State Report Finds (Forbes)
Uvalde Officers Knew Of Injuries Inside School As They Waited To Confront Gunman, Report Says (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/09/29/families-of-uvalde-shooting-survivors-sue-local-officials-and-gunmakers/