The family of a woman killed in the mass shooting in King Soopers is suing the manufacturer that made the gun used by the shooter.
Suzanne Fountain, 59, was among the 10 victims who were killed when a gunman opened fire in the store nearly two years ago. Nathaniel Getz, Fountain’s son and executor of her estate, filed the wrongful death lawsuit against Sturm, Ruger and Company, Inc. in Connecticut, where the business is headquartered.
The lawsuit states that the AR-556, which officials said was used in the shooting, “was designed with features that were chosen to maximize casualties and engineered to deliver maximum carnage with extreme efficiency.”
Ahmad Alissa bought the gun in Arvada before he opened fire in King Soopers, Boulder police said.
The lawsuit claims the gun manufacturer violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, which was cited previously by the Sandy Hook school shooting lawsuit. Victims’ families received a $73 million settlement from the manufacturer of the gun used in the Sandy Hook shooting.
“The AR-556 pistol variant featured the same rail system as other AR-15 style rifles while having an altered barrel and stock to evade federal classification as a rifle,” the lawsuit states. “Ruger designed the AR-556 to be sold with stabilizing braces that essentially allowed the weapon to be converted to a rifle while still preserving its classification as a pistol for regulatory purposes.”
The gun manufacturer’s AR-556 design has made it “more deadly than other pistols on the market,” the lawsuit claims.
The plaintiff also accuses the gun manufacturer of marketing its AR-556s “as combat weapons used for the purpose of waging war and killing human beings.”
The Leader reached out to Sturm, Ruger and Company, Inc. for comment, but did not hear back.
The lawsuit seeks monetary and punitive damages, as well as attorneys’ fees and court relief.
