When an arms manufacturer compensates the victims of a mass shooting. The deal was struck between the families of nine Sandy Hook school victims and Remington, the notorious gunsmith who made the gun used in 2012 to kill 26 people.
With our correspondent in Miami, David Thomson
It is a weapon of war used by American soldiers in Iraq. It is also the assault rifle of choice for mass killers in the United States. On December 14, 2012, it was this famous AR-15, model Bushmaster XM-15 that a 20-year-old young man used to kill 27 people including 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut. On the occasion of the second anniversary of this drama which had shaken America, the families of five children and four massacred adults had launched an action against the manufacturer of this very popular weapon in the United States on sale at the price of approximately 1000 euros in many states.
The plaintiffs accused Remington and its advertisers of negligence for knowingly selling a dangerous product. After ten years of proceedings, their victory is a first in the country of the sacrosanct Second Amendment of the Constitution which authorizes the carrying of firearms to American citizens.
This is the first time that a gunsmith has accepted such an agreement to compensate the families of victims of a massacre. A $73 million deal that “ does not mean the end of the arms industrycomments one of their lawyers, but that shows that this industry’s immunity isn’t bulletproof “.