DAYTON, Ohio — Nearly two years after the mass shooting in Dayton's Oregon District, which left nine people dead and 17 others wounded, a lawsuit has been filed against a gun manufacturer which created a weapon the shooter used.
Brady, a national gun violence prevention organization, and Cooper Elliott, a Columbus law firm, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Kyung Chang Industry USA Inc. and its related South Korean company Sunday on behalf of some of the victims' families.
The lawsuit claims negligence, negligent entrustment and public nuisance after the shooter used the company's 100-round magazine with a 223-caliber firearm.
One of the survivors, Dion Green, who lost his father during the shooting, as well as LaSandra James, who lost her daughter, took part in a Monday press conference to officially announce the lawsuit.
Ben Cooper, a partner at Cooper Elliot, said he believes it's the first lawsuit in the country to focus on high-capacity magazines.
“Through this lawsuit, the families are seeking accountability, and they want the companies to stop selling these products in dangerous ways,” Cooper said.
According to a press release, Cooper Elliott claims that type of weapon is only used in the military or in mass shootings.
“The risks to public safety of making and selling these to civilians outweigh any benefits. They are also not aware of any meaningful protocols, checks, or oversight KCI has in place to make sure its product isn’t used in a mass shooting. Therefore, it was foreseeable that, without sufficient safeguards, providing 100-round magazines to the general public would likely result in them being used in a mass shooting," Cooper Elliott stated.
Cooper Elliott said 60% of mass shootings involve high-capacity magazines.
Jonathan Lowy, chief counsel at Brady, said the Dayton mass shooting was just one of many examples of high-capacity magazines being put to use.
"Two years ago, as we know, a popular entertainment district in Dayton, Ohio was transformed into a war zone," Lowy said.
The shooting occurred in the early morning hours Aug. 4 outside Ned Peppers Bar. Police shot and killed the suspect less than a minute after shots were fired, according to authorities.
"Dion’s father, one of his best friends, died in his arms. Two women, friends out for an evening, were gunned down in the prime of their lives. Children were left without mothers. Sons were left without fathers. Men and women from all walks of life were slalughtered," Lowy said. "They did not sign up for battle. They just wanted to have a fun night out."
Lowy went on to say on the day before the Dayton shooting, there was a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, where 46 people were shot and 23 people were killed. A week before that, there was a festival in California where 14 were shot and three people were killed.
The goal of the lawsuit is to get dangerous weaponry, such as 100-round magazines, to no longer be produced and sold, Lowy said.
"A magazine like that can transform any place like that into a war zone in seconds," Lowy said. "We are asking for the defendents to pay appropriate damages and for the court to enter an injunction to make them stop selling the product."
Kyung Chang Industry USA Inc. has not publicly commented on the lawsuit as of Monday morning or responded to a request for comment.