The families of nine of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre reached a major $73 million legal settlement Tuesday with the maker of the gun used in the shooting, Remington Arms.
BREAKING: Remington Arms agreed today to pay $73 MILLION to the families of five adults and four children killed in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. This is the FIRST time a gun manufacturer has been held liable for a mass shooting in the U.S.
— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) February 15, 2022
The settlement with Remington marks the first instance in which a gun manufacturer was held legally liable for a mass shooting, according to the Associated Press. Additionally, Remington is allowing the families to release documents used in the lawsuit which show how the rifle, a Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle, was marketed, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Remington Faces Uncertainty Post Bankruptcy Breakup)
The lawsuit was initiated in 2015 after families and a survivor argued that Remington should not have made such a dangerous weapon publicly available, the AP reported. The goal of the lawsuit was to stop further mass shootings from taking place.
“These nine families have shared a single goal from the very beginning: to do whatever they could to help prevent the next Sandy Hook,” said Josh Koskoff, the plaintiffs’ attorney, according to CNN. “It is hard to imagine an outcome that better accomplishes that goal.”
Remington offered a $33 million settlement to the plaintiffs in July 2021. In a U.S. Supreme Court appeal, Remington made the case that their marketing strategy had nothing to do with the massacre.
The Sandy Hook shooter killed 27 people on Dec. 14, 2012, including 20 children. The shooter killed his mother prior to heading to the school, where he then murdered 26 students and staff.