- author, Brandon Drennon
- role, BBC News
- Reported by Washington DC
Family members of the victims of the Uvalde school shooting are suing Meta, the manufacturer of the gun used in the attack and the parent company of video games and Instagram.
Two new lawsuits allege that these companies helped market dangerous weapons to a “vulnerable” demographic, including the 18-year-old shooter.
The attack at Robb Primary School left 19 students and two teachers dead.
Friday marked the second anniversary of the Texas school shooting.
The dual lawsuits, filed in Texas and California, are against Activision Inc., developer of the military video game series “Call of Duty,” Daniel Defense Inc., a firearms manufacturer known for its premium rifles, and Meth.
These companies are accused of “raising” a generation of young people to live out violent video game fantasies in the real world using readily available weapons of war.
The gunman, Salvador Ramos, used an AR-15 type rifle in the attack.
The lawsuit alleges that Mehta and Activision “knowingly” showed him the gun he used in Uvalde, leading him to believe it was a solution to his problems.
The lawsuit alleges that Instagram, Activision and Daniel Defense “conspired together … in a scheme to prey on vulnerable adolescent boys,” the lawyers said in a news release.
“There is a direct link between the actions of these businesses and the Uvalde shooting,” the statement said.
“The three-headed monster deliberately showed him the weapon, conditioned him to see it as a tool to solve problems, and trained him to use it.”
The criminal complaint alleges that the shooter had been playing the war-themed video game “Call of Duty” since he was 15, using a rifle similar to the one used in the shooting.
The shooter “concurrently” was the subject of “aggressive marketing” by Daniel Defense, which ran ads targeted at the boy on Instagram, according to the lawsuit.
“Instagram creates a connection between young people, guns and gun companies,” plaintiffs' lawyer Josh Koskoff told CBS, the BBC's US media partner, on Friday.
“And no one has used Instagram for this purpose more than Daniel Defense.”
“The Uvalde shooting was horrific and heartbreaking in every sense of the word,” an Activision spokesperson told CBS, adding that the company expressed its “deepest condolences” to the victims and their families.
“Millions of people around the world enjoy playing video games without resorting to horrific behaviour,” the spokesman said.
The BBC has contacted Meta, Daniel Defence and Activision for comment.
Daniel Defense, which is facing other lawsuits brought by victims' families, said in a 2022 statement that such lawsuits are “frivolous” and “politically motivated.”
On Wednesday the victim's family reached a $2 million (£1.5 million) settlement with the City of Uvalde.
More than 370 police officers from local, state and federal departments were present at Robb Elementary School at the time of the attack.
It took police more than an hour to stop the gunman, who had barricaded himself in an adjacent classroom.
The families also announced new legal action against 92 officers from the state's Department of Public Safety, alleging “shocking and egregious failures” in responding to the shooting.
With files from Peter Bowes
