Attorneys for the family of one of the victims of the recent Uvalde, Texas elementary school shooting  have begun the process and laid the groundwork for suing the manufacturer of the assault rifle used in the horrendous mass killing.  They have requested marketing material from Georgia-based arms manufacturer Daniel Defense, the company who makes the AR-15-style assault rifle used to kill the student and 20 other people at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary School late last month.

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The legal team is representing relatives of Amerie Jo Garza,a 10 year old Robb student killed in the shooting, but hasn’t yet filed a lawsuit. One of its members of  the legal team, however, won a $73 million settlement for nine families of victims in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting after using a new legal theory that the marketing of the gun used violated fair-trade laws in Connecticut, the state where Sandy Hook is located.

The lawyers sent a letter asking officials with Daniel Defense to preserve evidence including marketing plans, social media campaigns and advertising.

“My purpose for being now is to honor Amerie Jo’s memory,” Alfred Garza, Amerie’s father, said in a statement released by the legal team. “She would want to me to do everything I can so this will never happen again to any other child. I have to fight her fight.”

“AK-47 Assault Rifle // Avtomat Kalashnikova 1947” by brian.ch is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse.

In their letter, the attorneys requested that Daniel Defense save records, including their online purchasing database and any communications they may have had with the Uvalde shooter. The gunman purchased a DDM4 rifle from Daniel Defense, classified as an AR-15-style weapon.

One of the attorneys noted   “If they really are sincere in their desire to support these families, they will provide the information that Mr. Garza has requested without delay or excuse.”

Daniel Defense’s website contains a statement saying “We are deeply saddened by the recent tragic events in Texas. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and community devastated by this evil act,” but they have not responded publicly to the attorney’s letter.

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Josh Koskoff, one of the attorneys who signed the letter, recently brokered the settlement on behalf of the families of nine victims killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012.  That shooting killed 26 people, including 20 first-graders.

Ulvade is now the second deadliest school shooting in American history, with 21 victims, behind Sandy Hook’s 26.

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Christopher Powell