ATLANTA — A teacher who works at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, has petitioned a Georgia gunmaker to seek more information about its business and how it may be tied to the mass shooting at the school that left 21 people dead, most of whom were children.
In the days following the shooting, Daniel Defense came under fire after it was learned that it manufactures the AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle the gunman used in the shooting rampage.
The pre-suit petition does not accuse the gun manufacturer of any wrongdoing but seeks to investigate whether teacher Emilia Marin has any basis to file a claim against Daniel Defense.
In the petition, the gunmaker, which is located near Savannah, was also tied to the 2017 mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival. It stated “four Daniel Defense AR-15-style rifles … were found in the hotel room of the 2017 Las Vegas shooter who massacred 60 individuals and wounded more than 400 others.”
The petition also seeks information about the companies ties to the NRA, politicians and how much the company may have spent on lobbying “federal and state governments, either directly or indirectly for the years 2012-2022.”
In an article by CNN, Marin’s attorney said she saw a car crash outside the school and as she was walking into the building, Marin saw other teachers and students running out saying there was a gunman inside.
That’s when she saw the gunman approach her.
“She thought he was going to come in and kill her and she made peace with that,” Marin’s attorney Don Flanary told CNN. “She can’t stop shaking.”
In a statement on Daniel Defense’s website, it says, “it is our understanding that the firearm used in the attack was manufactured by Daniel Defense. We will cooperate with all federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities in their investigations. We will keep the families of the victims and the entire Uvalde community in our thoughts and our prayers.”
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The Uvalde gunman bought his guns legally days before the attack and soon after his 18th birthday, law enforcement said in a briefing following the shooting.
He bought one AR-15-style rifle from a federally-licensed gun dealer in the Uvalde area on May 17, according to a state police briefing given to Sen. John Whitmire. The next day, he bought 375 rounds of ammunition, and bought a second rifle on May 20.
Officers recovered one of the rifles from the gunman’s truck and the other was found in the school, law enforcement said.
Speaking at the White House on Thursday night, President Joe Biden acknowledged the stiff political headwinds as he sought to drive up pressure on Congress to pass stricter gun limits after such efforts failed following past attacks.
He repeated calls to restore a ban on the sale of AR-15-style weapons and high-capacity magazines — and said if Congress won’t embrace all of his proposals, it must at least find compromises like keeping firearms from those with mental health issues or raising the age to buy AR-15-style weapons from 18 to 21.
“How much more carnage are we willing to accept?” Biden asked. “This time we have to take the time to do something.”
He called on Congress to end “outrageous” protections for gun manufacturers, which severely limit their liability over how their firearms are used, comparing it to the tobacco industry, which has faced repeated litigation over its products’ role in causing cancer and other diseases.
Adding a stark perspective to young people’s deaths, he noted that Centers for Disease Control data shows “guns are the number one killer of children in the United States of America,” ahead of car crashes.
“Over the last two decades, more school-age children have died from guns than on-duty police officers and active-duty military — combined,” he said.
Aware of persistent criticism from gun-rights advocates, Biden insisted his appeal wasn’t about “vilifying gun owners” or “taking away anybody’s guns.”
“We should be treating responsible gun owners as an example of how every gun owner should behave,” Biden said. “This isn’t about taking away anyone’s rights, it’s about protecting children, it’s about protecting families.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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