Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Uvalde school district, others face first lawsuit over mass shooting

Published 09/29/2022, 05:34 PM
Updated 09/29/2022, 05:44 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Weathered signs, candles and stuffed animals remain at a memorial outside Robb Elementary School the day after the video showing the May shooting inside the school released, in Uvalde, Texas, U.S., July 13, 2022. REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee Beal/F

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Weathered signs, candles and stuffed animals remain at a memorial outside Robb Elementary School the day after the video showing the May shooting inside the school released, in Uvalde, Texas, U.S., July 13, 2022. REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee Beal/F

By Brendan Pierson

(Reuters) - Parents of three children who survived the Uvalde, Texas school shooting have sued the school district, several former officials, the company that manufactured the gun used in the rampage and others.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court in Del Rio, Texas, appeared to be the first over the mass shooting, in which 19 children and two teachers were killed in May. The plaintiffs are parents of three children, one of whom was shot and injured and two who were present during the shooting at Robb Elementary School.

"The horrors at Robb Elementary School were only possible because so many in positions of power were negligent, careless and reckless," said Stephanie Sherman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, in a statement.

Defendants named in the lawsuit are the city of Uvalde; former police chief Pete Arredondo, who was fired in August amid harsh criticism of the law enforcement response to the shooting; school principal Mandy Gutierrez; Daniel Defense, the manufacturer of the gun used by the shooter; and Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI), which allegedly made communications devices used by first responders that failed to work as intended.

The city of Uvalde declined comment and other defendants could not immediately be reached for comment.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Weathered signs, candles and stuffed animals remain at a memorial outside Robb Elementary School the day after the video showing the May shooting inside the school released, in Uvalde, Texas, U.S., July 13, 2022. REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee Beal/File Photo

The complaint includes claims for negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. It seeks unspecified money damages from the individual defendants and the companies.

Uvalde officials faced harsh criticism after nearly 400 law enforcement officers waited outside school classrooms for more than an hour before confronting and killing the shooter. A report from the state legislature blamed "systemic failures" and poor leadership for the response, which it found may have contributed to the death toll.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.