A federal judge in Virginia rejected negligence claims brought against multiple assault rifle manufacturers following a school shooting in Washington, D.C., concluding there was inadequate evidence establishing a “causal chain” existed between the manufacturers’ advertising of their products and the plaintiffs’ injuries.
In a July 24 opinion, Judge Claude M. Hilton of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia threw out a negligence suit brought by Karen Lowy, who was waiting outside to pick up her daughter from the Edmund Burke School in Washington, D.C., along with a security guard, Antonio Harris. The plaintiffs claim they were struck in the shooting and sought damages for their physical injuries and emotional distress from several defendants, including Daniel Defense, FAB Defense, Federal Cartridge Co., Fiocchi Munizioni and Magpul Industries.