Families of victims from a mass shooting at a Texas school two years ago have filed lawsuits against the gun manufacturer, Instagram, and video game company Activision, claiming these entities marketed the weapon used in the tragedy.
The lawsuits represent an effort to hold these companies accountable for their roles in the incident, according to the families’ lawyer.
Activision responded to the lawsuit by issuing a statement calling the Uvalde shooting “horrendous and heartbreaking” and expressing sympathies to the affected families.
The company emphasized that millions of people worldwide play video games without engaging in violent acts. As of now, Meta (the parent company of Instagram) and Daniel Defense, the gun manufacturer, have not responded to requests for comment.
In a related development, the families of the Uvalde shooting victims reached a $2 million settlement with the Texas city earlier this week. This settlement addressed the “critical failures” by police in their response to the shooting, as identified by the Justice Department.
Despite the police eventually neutralizing the gunman, they faced criticism for waiting more than an hour before storming the classroom where the shooter was located.
School shootings remain a frequent and devastating issue in the United States, where a significant portion of the population owns firearms and regulations on acquiring powerful, military-style rifles are relatively lax.
