AUSTIN, Texas — The families of victims of the shootings at Robb Elementary School in 2022 in Uvalde, Texas, filed lawsuits against Meta, the maker of the “Call of Duty” video game and a rifle manufacturer.
Two lawsuits were filed against Meta and Daniel Defense on Friday, according to Reuters.
The lawsuits were revealed Friday which happened to be the second anniversary of the shootings at Robb Elementary School where 19 children and two teachers were killed, The Associated Press reported.
The lawsuits claim that Daniel Defense, Activision and Meta all took part in “grooming” the school shooter, The New York Times reported.
“There is a direct line between the conduct of these companies and the Uvalde shooting,” said Josh Koskoff, an attorney for the families, the AP reported. “This three-headed monster knowingly exposed him to the weapon, conditioned him to see it as a tool to solve his problems and trained him to use it.”
The Daniel Defense lawsuit was filed in Texas. The lawsuit against Meta and Activision were filed in California, the AP reported.
“We are saddened and outraged by senseless acts of violence. At the same time, we discourage baseless accusations linking these tragedies to video gameplay, which detract from efforts to focus on the root issues in question and safeguard against future tragedies,” the Entertainment Software Association said, according to the AP.
Activision said that the shooting in Uvalde was “horrendous and heartbreaking in every way, and we express our deepest sympathies to the families and communities who remain impacted by this senseless act of violence. Millions of people around the world enjoy video games without turning to horrific acts,” the AP reported.
Daniel Defense and Meta did not immediately respond to emails from the AP for comment.
On Wednesday, some of the same families filed a lawsuit against the city of Uvalde over the police response. Those families reached a $2 million settlement in that lawsuit.
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