FedEx mass shooting victims, families file lawsuit against gun distributor
Victims and families of victims of the 2021 Indianapolis FedEx mass shooting filed a lawsuit Thursday against American Tactical Inc. the distributor of the magazine used in the mass shooting, where 13 people were shot, eight fatally.
The 19-year-old suspect was a previous employee at the FedEx Ground station who died by suicide inside the facility, according to police. At least 100 people were inside the FedEx Ground facility on Mirabel Road on April 15, 2021, at the time of the shooting, according to police.
American Tactical President Tony DiChario and Marketing Director Joe Calabro, along with the magazine manufacturer Schmeisser GmbH, were also named in the lawsuit, according to a news release.
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IndyStar reached out to American Tactical shortly after the lawsuit was filed Thursday. A spokesperson for the company said they had "no comment" to make.
The complaint, which was filed in United States District Court for the Western District of New York in Rochester, argues American Tactical was the exclusive importer of Schmeisser magazines and sold the magazine used by the gunman in the FedEx mass shooting. The lawsuit alleges the company deliberately marketed and sold a product used to carry out mass shootings, according to the release.
“American Tactical, Inc.’s high capacity magazine used in the FedEx mass shooting had 60 rounds, two to three times the killing capacity of standard magazines,” said Leslie Mitchell Kroeger, partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, in the news release. “It is clear that the Defendants put profits from high capacity magazines ahead of people, which came at the grave expense of the victims and victims’ families of the FedEx mass shooting.”
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The lawsuit argues there was a clear duty by American Tactical to take reasonable steps to prevent dangerous individuals who would be attracted to such a weapon accessory, like the FedEx shooter, from acquiring their product, but the company failed to implement any protocols or safeguards, according to the release.
“American Tactical, Inc. is well aware that these magazines are instruments of mass killing and have no problem marketing them directly to people with horrific intentions,” said Gurinder Singh Bains in the news release, son of Jaswinder Singh who died in the FedEx shooting and a plaintiff in the case.
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“This isn’t a hypothetical," he said. "My father is gone because they didn’t care they were enabling mass shooters. They have to be held accountable not just for my father’s sake but everyone who may still suffer what my family and I have been forced to go through.”
American Tactical published several marketing videos in the style of violent video games and action movies, featuring men wearing tactical vests, the news release states. The lawsuit argues the gunman wore a tactical vest nearly identical to the gear used in American Tactical video advertisement.
The plaintiffs are represented by Leslie Mitchell Kroeger of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, along with Philip Bangle at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
John Tufts covers evening breaking and trending news for the Indianapolis Star. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis FedEx shooting victims, families sue American Tactical
