Sandy Hook families agree to $73 million settlement with gun manufacturer Remington

The families of nine victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting announced on Tuesday they have agreed to a $73 million settlement of a lawsuit against the maker of the rifle used to kill 20 first graders and six educators in 2012.

The families and a survivor of the shooting sued Remington in 2015, saying the company should have never sold such a dangerous weapon to the public. They said their focus was on preventing future mass shootings by forcing gun companies to be more responsible with their products and their marketing techniques.

Nicole Hockley, whose son Dylan was one of the first graders killed, called the settlement a “landmark, historic victory.” Hockley is also the co-founder and CEO of Sandy Hook Promise Foundation, a nonprofit focused on gun violence prevention

“The gun industry has been shielded from being held accountable for their part in these tragedies,” she said at a Tuesday news conference. “Today, that changes.”

As part of the settlement, Remington also agreed to allow the families to release documents they obtained during the lawsuit, including ones that show how the gunmaker marketed the weapon, said Joshua Koskoff, the lead attorney representing the families.

Koskoff took reporters at the press conference through a lengthy review of Bushmaster’s marketing for the firearm Lanza later used in the massacre.

“They will tell you it’s made for hunting, but where’s the animal in all of this?” Koskoff said pointing to one ad. Another ad in the presentation depicted the firearm with a message to prospective buyers about their ‘man card.’ “This is not marketing to the military,” he said. “The military doesn’t need ‘man cards.’”

Remington’s lawyers denied the allegations in court and argued that there was no evidence to show Remington’s marketing had anything to do with the shooting.