Families of Uvalde shooting victims sue video game company and gun maker Meta

Exactly two years after the Uvalde school massacre, families of the victims Several lawsuits were filed in California and Texas on Friday against social media giant Meta, Activision – the maker of the popular video game “Call of Duty” – and Daniel Defensethe manufacturer of the AR-15 the gunman used in the shooting.

Wrongful death lawsuits come just two days after same group of 19 families reached a $2 million settlement with the City of Uvalde regarding the Robb Elementary School massacre on May 24, 2022, who killed 19 students and two teachers.

One of the two lawsuits was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Activision and Meta, Instagram's parent company. The second lawsuit, against Daniel Defense, was filed in Uvalde District Court.

The lawsuits were filed by attorney Josh Koskoff, who also represents the same 19 families who were part of Wednesday's $2 million settlement.

Friday's lawsuits claim that Instagram, Activision and Daniel Defense “joined together…in a scheme that preyed on precarious teenagers,” the lawyers said in a press release.

The lawyers claim that Meta and Activision “have enabled and emboldened gun manufacturers' efforts to expand the market for their guns by granting unprecedented, direct, 24/7 access to children.”

The lawsuits allege that the shooter, on his 18th birthday, purchased the AR-15 used in the Uvalde shooting because “he was targeted and cultivated online by Instagram, Activision and Daniel Defense. This “I conditioned him to see it as a tool to solve his problems and trained him to use it,” Koskoff said in a statement.

According to the lawsuits, the Uvalde shooter downloaded “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” in November 2021 and had been playing previous versions of “Call of Duty” since he was 15 years old. The video game prominently features a model of the AR-15, known as the DDM4V7, that was used during filming, according to the lawsuits.

“Simultaneously, on Instagram, the shooter was being courted through explicit and aggressive marketing,” the lawyers said. “In addition to hundreds of images depicting and venerating the thrill of combat, Daniel Defense used Instagram to tout the illegal and deadly use of his weapons.”

On April 27, 2022, according to lawyers, the shooter created an account with Daniel Defense and added a DDM4V7 to his online shopping cart. Then on May 16, 2022, just 23 minutes after midnight, on his 18th birthday, he bought the gun – just eight days before the Uvalde shooting.

In an interview with CBS News on Friday, Koskoff said the two lawsuits were “working in concert.”

“Instagram creates a connection between … a teenager … and the gun and a gun company,” Koskoff said. “And no one has exploited Instagram for this purpose more than Daniel Defense. If Instagram can stop people from posting photos of their private parts, they can stop people from posting photos of an AR-15. And of course , Instagram doesn't care. They don't care, all they care about is driving traffic and generating attention, getting attention and getting their ad revenue.

In a statement provided to CBS News, an Activision spokesperson said “the Uvalde shooting was horrific and heartbreaking in every way, and we express our deepest condolences to the families and communities who remain affected by this senseless act of violence. » world enjoys video games without turning to horrible acts. »

CBS News has also reached out to Meta and Daniel Defense for comment on the litigation.

The same group of families also said Wednesday they are filing a $500 million federal lawsuit against nearly 100 state police officers who participated in the botched law enforcement response to the shooting, as well that against Mandy Gutierrez, former principal of Robb Elementary School, and Pete Arredondo, the school. the district police chief who was fired months after the shooting.

Extensive 575-page Justice Department report released in January determined that there had been a series of “cascading failures” in law enforcement's response that day. The report states that 77 minutes elapsed between the time law enforcement arrived on scene and the time the suspect was confronted and killed.

— Lilia Luciano, Alex Sundby, Melissa Quinn and Andres Triay contributed to this report.