“As a consequence of Glock selling firearms to the civilian market, individuals unfit to operate these weapons gain access to them,” the lawsuit says.
Two survivors of an April 2022 mass shooting abroad a crowded New York City subway train have filed a lawsuit against Glock, claiming that firearms manufacturer bears “direct” responsibility for the shooting.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of plaintiffs Furong Hu and Zhuoxuan Ye. Both Hu and Ye were aboard a Manhattan-bound “N” train when 62-year-old Frank James launched into a racially-charged tirade and began opening fire on his fellow passengers with a legally purchased Glock 17 9mm handgun.
The attack left about 29 people injured, 10 of whom were hit by gunfire.
Before the shooting, James uploaded a series of videos in which he ranted about an impending race war and railed against New York City’s mental health system; James also appeared displeased with the visible presence of the homeless on the subway.
The lawsuit alleges that Austria-based Glock endangered the public with its marketing strategies.
Aside from emphasizing the Glock 17’s high-capacity magazines and its “ease of concealment,” the company also failed to “stop the glorification of Glock” in rap and entertainment.
Glock, attorneys say, also manufactures far more firearms “than the legitimate market [can] bear.” This is allegedly done with the intent of creating, or facilitating, an illegitimate secondary market.
The lawsuit claims that Glock has, in the past, refused to take meaningful action against distributors who sell firearms to dealers “with disproportionately high volumes of guns traced to crime scenes.”
“As a consequence of Glock selling firearms to the civilian market, individuals unfit to operate these weapons gain access to them,” the lawsuit says, adding that many dealers are not even trained to detect so-called “straw purchases,” in which an individual buys a firearm for somebody who is not legally entitled to own one.
Straw sales are believed to be one of the primary methods through which organized crime organizations, including many Mexican drug cartels, obtain weaponry.
Other subway shooting survivors have already filed their own lawsuits.
Ilene Steur, who was injured in the same attack, is also taking action against Glock. Her lawsuit makes many of the same allegations as Hu and Ye’s.
“Defendants are aware that by over-saturating the market with guns, the guns will go the secondary markets that serve purchasers with a criminal intent, such as [Frank] James,” Steur’s lawsuit says.
The latter lawsuit was filed after former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law that allows gun companies to be held liable if they create a “public nuisance” that endangers the health, safety, or well-being of residents.
Sources
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