(UVALDE, Texas) — The families of four students injured in the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting is suing the suspected gunman’s estate and want answers about how he gained access to the school.
Attorney Thomas J. Henry filed a lawsuit on behalf of the families in a Texas district court on Monday.
On May 24, Salvador Ramos, 18, allegedly killed 19 children and two teachers at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary School. The victims represented in the lawsuit are among 17 kids injured during the shooting.
Henry and his team are leading an investigation examining the shooting, how the suspected gunman was able to buy an AR-15 and hundreds of rounds of ammunition and how he entered the school.
“This initial lawsuit will allow us to discover evidence and possibly add other parties to the lawsuit, if necessary,” Henry said in a press release. “The discovery process will focus on the school system, law enforcement, social media, and gun and ammunition manufacturers.”
The plaintiffs suffered severe injuries to the face, leg, back and other parts of the body, resulting in having them undergo multiple surgeries, as well as experience mental trauma stemming from watching their classmates and teachers die, according to the lawsuit. The parents are seeking $100 million in damages.
“He intentionally injured these young children, stole their innocence, and forever changed their lives,” the lawsuit says.
Henry’s firm will also investigate Ramos’ past to see if he had a violent history.
The suit may be one of many stemming from the shooting that rocked a Texas community and reinvigorated the debate about gun control in the U.S.
Alfred Garza, the father of Amerie Jo Garza, one of the children killed in the Uvalde shooting, hired Connecticut lawyers who successfully sued the manufacturer of the gun used in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, according to a news release.
Garza’s attorneys filed a letter last week requesting documents from Daniel Defense, the manufacturer of the gun used in Robb Elementary School.
“We have to honor her and make sure we do good. From this day forward, I want to live my life for my daughter,” Garza told ABC’s World News Tonight anchor David Muir.
Through her attorney, a Robb Elementary School teacher, who the Texas Department of Public Safety falsely accused of leaving a school door open that allowed the gunman to enter the school, filed a petition for information on Daniel Defense, ABC News reported.
President Joe Biden called for Congress to lift the immunity that protects gun makers from being held liable in a speech from the White House on June 2.
“We need to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. And if we can’t ban assault weapons, then we should raise the age to purchase them from 18 to 21, strengthen background checks, enact safe storage laws and red flag laws. Repeal the immunity that protects gun manufacturers from liability, address the mental health crisis,” he said.
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