Santa Fe shooting victim families, attorneys react to settlement with online ammo dealer
Families of the 10 victims in the Santa Fe High School mass murder and attorneys gave their reactions after a lawsuit was settled with an online company that sold ammunition to the accused gunman, who, at 17, was too young to make the purchase legally.
The non-profit litigation firm Everytown Law announced the settlement Thursday night.
The firm represents Sabika Aziz Sheikh, 17, an exchange student from Pakistan who was one of the 8 students and 2 teachers killed during the shooting.
The lawsuit accused online ammunition retailer LuckyGunner.com “acted negligently and with willful blindness when it sold ammunition to the 17-year-old shooter, through two fully-automated transactions that took less than two minutes to complete.”
The lawsuit alleged the Tennessee-based Lucky Gunner had intentionally set up an online sales system that - despite the company’s claims otherwise - did not verify the ages of ammunition purchasers.
Federal law makes it illegal for anyone under 18 years old to purchase handgun ammunition and 21 years old if the ammunition is bought from a licensed dealer.
According to Everytown Law’s statement, Lucky Gunner has agreed to maintain an age verification system at the point of sale for all ammunition sales.
Under this system, anyone whose age cannot be verified or who is verified to be under 21 is refused a sale.
The remaining terms of the settlement are confidential.
LuckyGunner.com CEO Jack Felde, in a written statement, said the company “didn't agree to do anything we weren't already doing. We'll continue investing in a world-class experience for American gun owners. We want ammo sales to be secure, convenient, and cost-effective for every law-abiding American."
