Sandy Hook Parents To Sue Gunmaker Bushmaster
The horrific Sandy Hook school shooting two years ago on December 14 that left 20 children and six adults dead in Newtown, Connecticut, could have a new chapter on behalf of the victims with several potential lawsuits. Parents of about 13 of the 20 victims, possibly more, will reportedly take part in a lawsuit against gun manufacturer Bushmaster, according to the Guardian. The Sandy Hook lawsuit against the gunmaker, which made the gun used by the killer in the school shooting, will be formally announced on Monday.
The Sandy Hook shooting shocked the entire world, largely because of the young age of most of the victims. It led to a media frenzy of reporters who descended on the small town just before Christmas, and has left many unresolved questions over access to weapons and mental health of those who ultimately become violent. Shooter Adam Lanza killed his mother using a weapon found in her own stockpile of guns before he went on a shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School, killing teachers and students.
A new analysis of school shootings at K-12 institutions nationally found that there have been 95 shootings in the two years since the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012. The Chicago Tribune reports that those shootings have claimed the lives of 45 people and injured another 78, according to the analysis.
The attorney on the Sandy Hook case against Bushmaster is the same man who took up the case of Michael Jackson’s family in their wrongful death lawsuit. The parents of 11 Sandy Hook victims say they also plan to make a wrongful death claim, just in time for the legal deadline of filing such a claim.
Bushmaster is a North Carolina-based manufacturer that makes the AR-15 rifle Lanza used at Sandy Hook Elementary, but the company has not confirmed whether they have been notified of a lawsuit.
Local newspaper the Hartford Courant reports, though, that according to their sources, several families had already met with the law firm Koskoff, Koskoff, and Bieder, in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Other potential lawsuits on the table include legal action against the town over security issues and against the estate of the Sandy Hook shooter’s mother, Nancy Lanza.
The deadline for those suits is also two years.
The case against Nancy Lanza’s estate would technically be against the insurance company that is the policy holder of Lanza’s Newtown home. The house where she was murdered by her own son remains the largest asset, but it was turned over to the town and is valued at about $64,000. She also had homeowners insurance, which is a possible lawsuit target for the parents of Sandy Hook victims.
