Families of Uvalde victims sue makers of AR-15, 'Call of Duty' and Meta over mass shooting

UVALDE, Texas– The families of the Uvalde victims have filed a lawsuit against Daniel Defense, the maker of the AR-15 assault rifle, and Activision, the publisher of the “Call of Duty” first-person shooter video game series. “, and Meta, the parent company of Instagram, over what they claim is their role in promoting the gun used in the shooting.

The suit alleges the companies teamed up to market the gun to underage boys in games and on social media.

The lawsuit was filed Friday, two years after the shooting.

Salvador Ramos – the 18-year-old shooter who killed 19 students and two teachers and injured 17 others – purchased the DDM4V7 rifle a week before the shooting, months after he began playing a version of the game and posted several posts on Instagram about guns, said Josh Koskoff, the lawyer representing the families.

“This three-headed monster knowingly exposed him to the gun, conditioned him to view it as a tool to solve his problems, and trained him to use it,” Koskoff said in a statement.

Daniel Defense, Activision and Meta did not immediately comment on the lawsuit to ABC News.

Activision said in a statement to the New York Times that “we express our deepest condolences to the families” of Uvalde, but added that “millions of people around the world enjoy video games without turning to horrible acts.”

The suit claims the “Call of Duty” franchise contains realistic depictions of gun violence where “the weapons are authentic.”

“They are designed to perfectly mimic their real-life counterparts in look, feel, recoil and accuracy,” the suit claims.

The lawyers added: “With Instagram's blessing and help, assault weapons purveyors can flood teens with content that glorifies lone gunmen, exploits tropes of sex and hypermasculinity, and where to purchase the Call of Duty-tested weapon of their choice.”

“According to a gun marketing agency, 'there are major loopholes in…advertising regulations on Facebook and Instagram,' allowing organic posts promoting guns to infiltrate the platform “, the lawsuit claims.

The shooter, who was killed in the shootout by law enforcement, was “wooed through explicit and aggressive marketing” on Instagram, according to the complaint.

He downloaded the 2019 game “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” in November 2021, according to the suit. He has been playing a mobile version of the game since he was 15, according to the lawsuit.

After purchasing the game, the shooter allegedly began “searching for guns on his phone and browsing the Daniel Defense website,” according to the complaint.

The shooter allegedly created an account on the Daniel Defense website and put the DDM4 V7 in his shopping cart, the lawsuit claims.

“The shooter became consumed with impatience, compulsively Googling how many days he had until his birthday on May 16,” the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit filed Friday is the latest in criminal and civil proceedings filed since the shooting.

This week, 19 families reached an agreement with the city of Uvalde. The city will pay a total of $2 million from its insurance coverage.

As part of the settlement, the families said they were involved in efforts to improve the Uvalde Police Department. The settlement also prescribes ways in which the city should support the community while residents heal, including creating a committee to design a permanent memorial funded by the city.

The families also announced charges this week against 92 Texas Department of Public Safety officers. The lawsuit names the Uvalde School District and several of its employees as defendants, including the then-superintendent and then the school district's police chief.

The families also plan to sue the federal government, their lawyer said, noting that more than 150 federal agents were at the school.

ABC News' Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.