The family of a Highland Park parade shooting victim has filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the assault rifle used in the attack, saying Smith & Wesson irresponsibly marketed the military-style firearm to teenagers and young adults.
The suit, filed late Friday in Lake County Court, was mounted on behalf of the family of Eduardo Uvaldo. He was one of the seven people killed in the July 4, 2022, mass shooting when, authorities say, Robert Crimo III opened fire on the crowd gathered to see the parade.
The gun police say Crimo used, a Smith & Wesson M&P-15, is an assault rifle modeled on the AR-15.
Attorneys for the Uvaldo family say that model has been used in several mass shootings around the U.S., including in Aurora, Colorado, and that Smith & Wesson’s decision to continue to market the weapon in the wake of the shootings constituted a “negligent entrustment” under Illinois consumer law.
“Smith & Wesson was once an iconic American company that did things the right way – they refused to even make AR-15s – until new leadership with complete disregard for public safety transformed the company from the model of responsibility to one of recklessness,” said Josh Koskoff, the attorney for the Uvaldo family.
“Smith & Wesson learned that while mass shootings were horrific for families and communities across America, they were also great for business,” he said. “With each new mass shooting came a sales surge, and the company doubled down on its strategy to reach youth and promote a first-person style shooting experience.”
In an interview last week, Koskoff said Smith & Wesson had once decided against producing weapons like the M&P-15, but changed tactics after the company was sold in 2001. By 2009, the company was selling 100,000 of the rifles annually, Koskoff said.
Uvaldo was just shy of his 70th birthday when he was fatally shot at the parade.
He had come to the U.S. as a teenager from Mexico and was a proud American, Koskoff and his family said after a hearing last week in the Crimo case. Uvaldo and his wife, who were married 52 years, raised a family and lived in Waukegan.
“He lived the American dream and he died the American nightmare,” Koskoff said.
Koskoff’s firm, which is based in Connecticut, negotiated a multi-million-dollar settlement with arms maker Remington on behalf of nine families in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
Last week, Crimo rejected a plea deal in court that would have sent him to prison for the rest of his life. He is scheduled to stand trial in February.
Attempts to reach Smith & Wesson were unsuccessful.
