Parents of woman slain in Colorado cinema massacre sue ammo supplier
By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - The parents of a woman killed in the Colorado theater shooting rampage filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against four companies that sold the accused gunman James Holmes ammunition, body armor and other gear used in the massacre. Sandy and Lonnie Phillips, the parents of Jessica Ghawi, say the retailers including BulkAmmo.com, which sold Holmes more than 4,300 rounds of ammunition, were negligent when they sold the items to "a patently dangerous homicidal man." Ghawi, a 24-year-old aspiring sports broadcaster, was one of 12 people killed in July 2012 when Holmes opened fire inside a suburban Denver theater during a midnight screening of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises." "As gunowners, parents, and citizens of this country, we hope that our lawsuit will spare other families the tragedy that we have gone through after the death of our beautiful daughter," Sandy Phillips said in a statement. Holmes, 26, is due to go on trial in December on multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder stemming from the shooting, which also wounded 70 moviegoers. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty for the Southern California native if he is convicted. The civil lawsuit, filed in state court, does not ask for monetary damages, but rather "injunctive relief," asking that the companies be forced to change their business practices. At a preliminary hearing last year in the criminal case, police investigators testified Holmes bought the ammunition and other gear online in the weeks before the massacre. Messages left for BulkAmmo and the other companies named as defendants were not immediately returned. The lawsuit was filed by attorneys with the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which said it is the first in the nation against online sellers of ammunition and military equipment. "A crazed, homicidal killer should not be able to amass a military arsenal without showing his face or answering a single question, with the simple click of a mouse," said Jonathan Lowy, director of the center's legal action project. The center is named for James Brady, a former aide to President Ronald Reagan who was shot in a 1981 assassination attempt on the president and became an ardent supporter of gun control. Brady died last month from complications caused by the shooting. (Editing by Daniel Wallis)
