In a recent development, relatives of the victims of the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school mass shooting have initiated a lawsuit against Meta, the parent company of Instagram, as reported by several sources.
The tragic incident, which occurred in May 2022, claimed the lives of two teachers and 19 children at Robb Elementary School before the assailant was fatally shot by Border Patrol agents. The lawsuit also implicates Activision, the creator of the Call of Duty video game series, and Daniel Defense, the manufacturer of the firearm used in the shooting, according to CBS News.
Attorney Josh Koskoff, representing the families, stated, "[The shooter] was targeted and cultivated online by Instagram, Activision and Daniel Defense," in a statement released to CBS. He further added, "This three-headed monster knowingly exposed him to the weapon, conditioned him to see it as a tool to solve his problems and trained him to use it.
The law enforcement's handling of the shooting has been widely criticized, with a January report from the Justice Department and a July 2022 report from a Texas House of Representatives committee highlighting "shortcomings and failures" in the response. Notably, over 300 officers reportedly waited outside the school for 77 minutes until the gunman was neutralized.
Daniel Defense's CEO faced scrutiny from Democratic Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts during a House Oversight Committee hearing in July 2022. The company is already dealing with at least one other lawsuit related to the Uvalde shooting, as reported by The Associated Press.
Koskoff recently secured a $2 million settlement with the city of Uvalde over the response, just before filing the lawsuits. He stated, There is a direct line between the conduct of these companies and the Uvalde shooting, as reported by NBC News.
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