INDIANAPOLIS — Survivors and families of victims of the 2021 mass shooting at an Indianapolis FedEx facility filed a lawsuit Thursday against the distributor of the magazine used in the incident that left eight people dead.
The lawsuit alleges that American Tactical, Inc. intentionally used reckless marketing tactics targeting young men at risk for violent behavior. The suit also alleges that the distributor failed to prevent dangerous people from purchasing high-capacity magazines, which can fire dozens of rounds without having to reload.
“American Tactical, Inc. is well aware that these magazines are instruments of mass killing and have no problem marketing them directly to people with horrific intentions,” said Gurinder Singh Bains, son of Jaswinder Singh who died in the FedEx shooting and a plaintiff in the case.
The 19-year-old suspect was a previous employee at the FedEx Ground station who died by suicide inside the facility, according to police. At least 100 people were inside the FedEx Ground facility on April 15, 2021, at the time of the shooting, according to police.
American Tactical President Tony DiChario and Marketing Director Joe Calabro, along with the magazine manufacturer Schmeisser GmbH, were also named in the lawsuit, according to a news release.
IndyStar, part of the USA TODAY Network, reached out to American Tactical shortly after the lawsuit was filed Thursday. A spokesperson for the company said they had “no comment” to make.
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Lawsuit alleges lack of safeguards, reckless marketing
The complaint, which was filed in federal court in New York, argues American Tactical was the exclusive importer of Schmeisser magazines and sold the magazine used by the gunman in the FedEx mass shooting. The lawsuit alleges the company deliberately marketed and sold a product used to carry out mass shootings, according to the release.
“American Tactical, Inc.’s high capacity magazine used in the FedEx mass shooting had 60 rounds, two to three times the killing capacity of standard magazines,” said Leslie Mitchell Kroeger, who represents the plaintiffs..
The lawsuit argues there was a clear duty by American Tactical to take reasonable steps to prevent dangerous individuals who would be attracted to such a weapon accessory, like the FedEx shooter, from acquiring their product. According to a news release, the company failed to implement any protocols or safeguards.
American Tactical published several marketing videos in the style of violent video games and action movies, featuring men wearing tactical vests, the news release states. The lawsuit argues the gunman wore a tactical vest nearly identical to the gear used in American Tactical video advertisement.
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The gun industry and gun rights advocates have said manufacturers should not be held liable when people misuse their products and have compared firearms to other products, such as cars, that can also be used to hurt people.
While gunmakers have been granted immunity and exempted from lawsuits over crimes committed with firearms under federal law, survivors and families of victims are increasingly trying to hold the industry accountable.
“This isn’t a hypothetical,” Bains said. “My father is gone because they didn’t care they were enabling mass shooters. They have to be held accountable not just for my father’s sake but everyone who may still suffer what my family and I have been forced to go through.”
Families of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting in Connecticut won a $73 million settlement last year from gunmaker Remington over marketing practices.
Also last year, the survivors of the Highland Park parade shooting near Chicago filed 11 lawsuits against the manufacturer of the rifle used in the attack, accusing gun-maker Smith & Wesson of illegally targeting its ads at young men at risk of committing mass violence. And in November, the mother of a girl killed in the Uvalde, Texas, school mass shooting sued the maker of the AR-style semiautomatic rifle that the gunman used to fire more than 100 rounds.
Contributing: The Associated Press
USA TODAY NETWORK
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