Global Courant 2023-04-14 16:01:16
The son of a man killed in a 2021 mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis filed a federal lawsuit Thursday with two of the survivors against the distributor of the 60-round magazine used by the shooter, alleging the reckless marketing tactics targeting young men put them at risk of violent behavior.
The lawsuit – almost exactly two years after the shooting that killed eight people – was filed and alleges that American Tactical, Inc. took no steps to prevent dangerous people from getting their hands on the high-capacity magazine, which allows shooters to fire dozens of rounds without reloading.
Instead, the lawsuit says the company has targeted its products specifically at a “consumer base filled with impulsive young men who feel they must harm others to prove their strength and who have militaristic delusions of fighting in a war or a video game.” It references action movie-style marketing videos posted on American Tactical’s YouTube page featuring men firing round after round in tactical vests — similar to one worn by the FedEx facility’s gunman.
“American Tactical, Inc. is well aware that these magazines are tools for mass murder and has no problem marketing them directly to people with heinous intent,” said Gurinder Singh Bains. whose father, Jaswinder Singh, was killed in the shooting.
“This is not hypothetical. My father is gone because they didn’t care that they enabled mass shooters. They must be held accountable, not just for the sake of my father, but anyone who may still suffer from what my family and I are forced to continue,” he said in an emailed statement.
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The complaint also names American Tactical’s president, the company’s director of marketing, as well as Schmeisser GmbH — the German manufacturer of the high-capacity magazine — and 365 Plus, its global distributor.
A person who answered the phone for American Tactical said the company had no immediate comment. Email requesting comment has been sent to Schmeisser GmbH and 365 Plus.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in New York, where a law passed in 2021 opened the door to civil suits brought against the gun industry by classifying the illegal marketing and sale of firearms as a “public nuisance.”
The firearms industry has said manufacturers are not to blame when people misuse their products, drawing a comparison to other products, such as cars, that can also be used to hurt people.
A body is taken from the scene of a shooting at a FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, on April 16, 2021. The son of one of the men killed in the shooting filed a lawsuit on April 13, 2023 with two survivors against the distributor of the magazine used by the shooter. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
Gunmakers are typically immune to lawsuits over crimes committed with their products under federal law, but survivors and families are increasingly trying to hold the industry accountable by following in the footsteps of families of victims of the Sandy Hook shooting in Connecticut in 2012. They won a $73 million settlement from gun maker Remington over marketing practices.
Last year, survivors of the mass shooting at an Independence Day parade in a Chicago suburb and relatives of the dead filed 11 lawsuits against the manufacturer of the rifle used in the attack. They accused gunmaker Smith & Wesson of illegally targeting its ads at young men. risk committing mass violence. And in November, the mother of a girl who died in the mass shooting at the Uvalde, Texas school, similarly sued the maker of the semi-automatic AR rifle the shooter used to fire more than 100 rounds.
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In addition to Jaswinder Singh’s son, two other prosecutors survived the shooting. Harpreet Singh was standing in line to collect his salary when he was shot in the head. According to the lawsuit, Lakhwinder Kaur allegedly helped a colleague who collapsed when a bullet pierced her arm.
The 19-year-old gunman, Brandon Scott Hole, started shooting randomly at people in the parking lot of the FedEx facility on April 15, 2021, killed four, before entering the building, killed four more people, then turned the gun on himself. Among the eight FedEx employees killed were four members of the Indianapolis Sikh community.
According to the lawsuit, the shooter needed the high-capacity magazine to “accomplish his mission to kill and terrorize as many people as possible.” He was encouraged by “knowing that he had the ability to fire 60 rounds without having to pause to reload,” according to the indictment.
According to the lawsuit, American Tactical was required to take steps to minimize the risk of dangerous people like the shooter getting their hands on the product. Instead, anyone — “regardless of age, criminal history, or mental health history” — can purchase high-capacity magazines, such as the one used by Hole, directly from American Tactical’s website, the indictment said.
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“Weapon manufacturers and distributors know that high-capacity magazines are favored by mass shooters for their ability to kill as many people as possible, so American Tactical should have taken reasonable precautions to prevent such magazines from falling into the hands of those who do not should have done.” them,” said Kris Brown, president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which helped file the lawsuit.
“They didn’t and these families are paying that price,” she added in her statement.
FedEx, which is not a party to the lawsuit, said in a statement Thursday that “April 15 will always be a sad day of reflection for our company as we continue to mourn our team members lost in the tragedy.”
“Providing a safe working environment for our team members at all times remains our top priority,” the company continued.
