Uvalde School Shooting: Families of Victims Sue 'Call Of Duty' Maker, Meta and Gun Company

Houston: Several families whose children were killed or injured in a mass shooting at a Texas school two years ago have sued the gun manufacturer, Instagram, and the video game company Activision for marketing the weapon, their lawyer said.

On May 24, 2022, 19 children and two teachers were shot dead  at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, by a teenage shooter who used an AR-15 style rifle. This was the deadliest school shooting in the U.S. in a decade.

The families are accusing Daniel Defense (the gun manufacturer), Meta-owned Instagram, and Microsoft-owned Activision (which makes the "Call of Duty" video game featuring the weapon) of wrongful death and gross negligence. They claim these companies marketed the gun to "insecure, adolescent boys," according to their lawyer, Josh Koskoff.

Koskoff argued that the companies' actions directly contributed to the shooting, as the gunman bought the weapon immediately after turning 18, the legal age for purchasing long guns in Texas.

He stated that the gunman was targeted and influenced online by Instagram, Activision, and Daniel Defense well before he was legally old enough to buy the weapon. Koskoff said, "This three-headed monster knowingly exposed him to the weapon, made him see it as a solution to his problems, and trained him to use it."

"Well before he was old enough to purchase it, he was targeted and cultivated online by Instagram, Activision and Daniel Defense," Koskoff said in his statement.

“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.”

Activision responded, calling the Uvalde shooting "horrendous and heartbreaking" and expressed sympathy for the families. They also noted that millions of people play video games without committing violent acts. Meta and Daniel Defense have not yet commented.

Earlier this week, the families from Uvalde reached a $2 million settlement with the city due to what the Justice Department called "critical failures" by police in responding to the shooting. Although officers eventually killed the gunman, they waited over an hour before entering the classroom where he was hiding.

School shootings have become a regular occurrence in the US, where about a third of adults own firearms, and regulations on purchasing even powerful military-style rifles are relatively lenient.