‘PRONE TO VIOLENCE’

Highland Park Survivors Sue Gun Manufacturer Smith & Wesson

Survivors of the mass shooting in the Chicago suburb say gun manufacturers and distributors bear responsibility for the violence.

Survivors of the July 4 Highland Park massacre filed a set of lawsuits Wednesday against companies and individuals they allege contributed to the violence, from a gun manufacturer to the shooter’s father. The shooter allegedly used a Smith & Wesson M&P15 to kill seven people and injured another 48 at a street parade in the Chicago suburb. Attorneys for the victims and families claim gun distributors are complicit in the escalating cycle of violence since their advertising targets consumers who are “impulsive” and “prone to violence.” “As our complaints allege, [the shooter] used a gun that was deceptively and unfairly marketed to him by Smith & Wesson, illegally sold to him by Bud’s Gun Shop and Red Dot Arms, and negligently put in his hands by his father,” said Everytown Law’s senior director of affirmative litigation Alla Lefkowitz. “Each and every one of those entities and individuals bears responsibility for the devastation at the parade, and our lawsuit seeks to hold them accountable for the damage their actions led to.”