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Mourners listen while names are read aloud during a vigil for the victims of the mass shooting at Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 23, 2018 in Newtown, Connecticut--which is is home to Sandy Hook Elementary School, where 26 people including 20 children were killed in a mass shooting in 2012. (Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Sandy Hook Families Reach First-of-Its-Kind Settlement With Gunmaker
"Our legal system has given us some justice today," said Francine Wheeler, whose six-year-old son was killed. "True justice would be our 15-year-old healthy and here with us."
Feb 15, 2022
Nine families of victims killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre announced Tuesday that they have reached a $73 million settlement with Remington Arms--the first time a U.S. gunmaker has been held liable for a mass shooting.
The settlement comes nearly a decade after a gunman with an AR-15-style rifle murdered 20 children and six staff members at the Newtown, Connecticut school, and just a day after survivors of the 2018 Parkland, Florida mass shooting marked its four-year anniversary with demands that President Joe Biden and Congress do more prevent gun violence.
"Today is not about honoring our son Benjamin. Today is about how and why Ben died," said Francine Wheeler, whose six-year-old was killed in the 2012 shooting. "It is about what is right and what is wrong. Our legal system has given us some justice today, but David and I will never have true justice. True justice would be our 15-year-old healthy and here with us."
According to the Associated Press, the families' civil lawsuit in Connecticut claimed the firearm used in the shooting was marketed to younger, at-risk males, with advertising language such as "Consider Your Man Card Reissued." Although Remington has filed for bankruptcy, the AP reports that four insurers for the gunmaker plan to pay the full settlement to the families.
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Nine families of victims killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre announced Tuesday that they have reached a $73 million settlement with Remington Arms--the first time a U.S. gunmaker has been held liable for a mass shooting.
The settlement comes nearly a decade after a gunman with an AR-15-style rifle murdered 20 children and six staff members at the Newtown, Connecticut school, and just a day after survivors of the 2018 Parkland, Florida mass shooting marked its four-year anniversary with demands that President Joe Biden and Congress do more prevent gun violence.
"Today is not about honoring our son Benjamin. Today is about how and why Ben died," said Francine Wheeler, whose six-year-old was killed in the 2012 shooting. "It is about what is right and what is wrong. Our legal system has given us some justice today, but David and I will never have true justice. True justice would be our 15-year-old healthy and here with us."
According to the Associated Press, the families' civil lawsuit in Connecticut claimed the firearm used in the shooting was marketed to younger, at-risk males, with advertising language such as "Consider Your Man Card Reissued." Although Remington has filed for bankruptcy, the AP reports that four insurers for the gunmaker plan to pay the full settlement to the families.
Nine families of victims killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre announced Tuesday that they have reached a $73 million settlement with Remington Arms--the first time a U.S. gunmaker has been held liable for a mass shooting.
The settlement comes nearly a decade after a gunman with an AR-15-style rifle murdered 20 children and six staff members at the Newtown, Connecticut school, and just a day after survivors of the 2018 Parkland, Florida mass shooting marked its four-year anniversary with demands that President Joe Biden and Congress do more prevent gun violence.
"Today is not about honoring our son Benjamin. Today is about how and why Ben died," said Francine Wheeler, whose six-year-old was killed in the 2012 shooting. "It is about what is right and what is wrong. Our legal system has given us some justice today, but David and I will never have true justice. True justice would be our 15-year-old healthy and here with us."
According to the Associated Press, the families' civil lawsuit in Connecticut claimed the firearm used in the shooting was marketed to younger, at-risk males, with advertising language such as "Consider Your Man Card Reissued." Although Remington has filed for bankruptcy, the AP reports that four insurers for the gunmaker plan to pay the full settlement to the families.
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