Relatives of Boulder King Soopers shooting sue gun manufacturer
Two years after the deadly shooting at a King Soopers in Boulder, Colorado, relatives of those lost are suing gun manufacturer Sturm, Ruger & CO. for reckless marketing because the shooter used a gun manufactured by them.
On March 10, 2023, Nathaniel Getz, the son of Suzanne Fountain, one of 10 killed in the shooting, filed a lawsuit alleging the gunmaker used deceptive marketing practices by producing and selling the gun, the AR-556, which resembles a semi-automatic rifle, but is legally classified as a pistol.
According to Getz’s lawyer Andrew Garza, the case’s main objective is to seek justice for the family and hold Ruger & CO accountable. “We think they had a moral responsibility to do better,” Garza told the Associated Press.
In the weeks following the serving of Getz’s case, five more family members of the 10 people killed served the company another lawsuit, also alleging “reckless” and “immoral” marketing on the part of Sturm, Ruger & CO. The case will be filed in Superior Court in Stamford, Connecticut.
According to investigators, the gunman in the March 22, 2021, shooting legally purchased the Ruger AR-556. Gunmakers are generally shielded from liability under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, passed in 2005. However, an exception to the act allows lawsuits over firearms marketing, which is the approach these suits are taking.
In a similar case brought against gunmaker Remington in 2019 by the families of those lost in Sandy Hook, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that Remington could be sued over how it marketed its Bushmaster XM15-E2S rifle. According to CPR, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Remington’s appeal of that ruling, and the company eventually paid a settlement of $73 million.
Although the main allegation in each case pertains to the marketing of the weapon, Nathanial Getz’s case also alleges that Sturm, Ruger & CO. manufactured the pistol to evade laws regulating rifles. Getz’s seven-page complaint states that Ruger designed the AR-556 to be sold with certain features that allow it to convert into a rifle. The complaint also alleges that Ruger violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Getz is seeking undisclosed monetary compensation.
The six victims whose relatives are suing Ruger include Suzanne Fountain, Neven Stanisic, Denny Stong, Lynn Murray, Jody Waters and Kevin Mahoney.
