SANTA FE, Texas – An online ammunition seller has reportedly reached an agreement with the survivors of the Santa Fe High School shooting and several family members of the deceased victims.
According to Everytown.org, a website that states they are the largest gun violence prevention organization in America, the family of Sabika Aziz Sheikh, a 17-year-old exchange student killed by in the mass shooting, and 10 other plaintiffs, reached the global settlement agreement on Thursday with online ammunition seller Luckygunner LLC, and a related company, Red Stag Fulfillment LLC.
As a result of the settlement, Luckygunner has agreed to perform age verification on all ammunition sales throughout the U.S.. , including Texas. “I’m grateful that Luckygunner has had a change of heart and has changed their policy. If they had made changes like this in the past, Santa Fe would not have happened,” said Rhonda Hart, who’s 14 year old daughter Kimberly was killed in the massacre.
In the lawsuit, the prosecution stated that Dimitrios Pagourtzis, the 17-year-old shooter responsible for taking the lives of 10 teachers and students, accessed the firearms from his family’s home and loaded them with ammunition that he purchased online at Luckygunner.com, even though he was too young to make the transaction.
Additionally, the lawsuit stated that the company acted ‘negligently and with willful blindness’ during the transaction since they did not verify the age of the customer.
All in all, the prosecutors say it took two minutes for Pagourtzis to purchase that ammunition online, which otherwise would have been impossible if proper steps were put into place to ensure the buyer was over the age of 18.
The victim’s families and survivors are now calling on state leaders to do more , urging them to pass a law requiring all online ammunition sellers and brick and mortar stores to require proof of age before they sell ammunition. “This is not an anti-gun or 2nd amendment issue for us. Many of us, including myself, are gun owners. This is about accountability,” said Scot Rice. His wife survived the school massacre at Santa Fe High.
Victim’s families and survivors are still seeking answers. They are working with state Senator Mayes Middleton on a measure that would give them access to evidence of the crime in a a still active case in a way that would not taint the case. Many said they are desperate to learn as much as they can about the fate of their loved ones.
On the opposition, Luckygunner held onto its reasoning, saying that it had no legal liability or responsibility for the Santa Fe High School massacre, even stating that they believed they were entitled to immunity in this case. Each of these arguments was repeatedly rejected by every court to hear the case, the news release read.
The seller, Luckygunner, LLC, had appealed the lawsuit last year. The appeal was later rejected by the Texas Supreme Court.
“The lawsuit alleged that Luckygunner acted negligently and with willful blindness when it sold ammunition to the 17-year-old shooter, through two fully-automated transactions that took less than two minutes to complete. The lawsuit alleged that Luckygunner had intentionally set up an online sales system through which it would not know or verify the ages of its customers – even though federal law makes it illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to purchase handgun ammunition (and 21 if the ammunition is bought from a licensed dealer). The lawsuit further alleged that a related company, Red Stag Fulfillment, LLC, shipped Luckygunner’s ammunition to the 17-year-old shooter without conducting any age-verification of its own, even though it knew that Luckygunner did not verify the age of its customers.”
At the conclusion of the suit, Luckygunner agreed to create and maintain an age verification system at the point of sale for all ammunition sales.
Under this system, anyone whose age cannot be verified or who is verified to be under 21, is refused a sale.
This agreement between the two parties was noted by Everytown.org as a first-of-its-kind deal, and a landmark agreement following three years of ‘hard-fought litigation.”
The litigation arm of Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, Everytown Law, and Clint McGuire of the law firm of Martinez & McGuire PLLC represented Sabika’s parents.
The Everytown Law team representing the family of Sabika Aziz Sheikh included Alla Lefkowitz, Senior Director of Affirmative Litigation; Molly Thomas-Jensen, Deputy Director, Affirmative Litigation; Krystan Hitchcock, Counsel; and Andrew Nellis, Counsel.
“Nothing will ever bring Sabika back,” said Farah Naz, Sabika’s mother. “But we hope that this agreement sends a message to other sellers of dangerous products: it’s your responsibility to prevent your products from ending up in the wrong hands.”
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