– Meta and Activision sued for Uvalde killings
Two years ago, a young man killed 21 people, including 19 children, with automatic weapons at a school in Uvalde, Texas.
Published today at 12:52 a.m.
The Uvalde killing, on May 24, 2022, had a worldwide impact.
AFP
At this point you will find additional external content. If you agree to cookies being placed by external providers and personal data thus being transmitted to them, you must allow all cookies and display external content directly.
Allow cookiesMore informations
Families of those killed in the Uvalde (Texas) shooting, as well as surviving victims, sued Meta on Friday, as well as video game publisher Activision and the manufacturer of the murder weapon, accused of having contributed to the killer’s act.
On May 24, 2022, a former student at Robb Elementary School, Salvador R. (18 years old at the time), entered the premises, armed with an AR-15 assault rifle, before to fire. He caused the death of 19 children as well as two teachers and injured 17 before being shot dead.
“There is a direct link between the conduct of these companies and the Uvalde shooting,” said lawyer Josh Koskoff, who represents the relatives and survivors who have decided to take legal action, in a statement.
“Three-headed monster”
For him, Meta, Activision and Daniel Defense, manufacturer of the weapon, form “a three-headed monster”, which “knowingly exposed” Salvador R. “to the weapon, led him to see it as a way to solve his problems, and trained him to use it.
He pointed out the responsibility of Instagram, a subsidiary of Meta, which “allows” according to him “arms manufacturers to come into contact with consumers”, including those of a young age.
As for Activision, the publisher “should stop training and accustoming children to kill,” insisted the lawyer. The Activision Blizzard studio was bought in fall 2023 by Microsoft.
“Call of Duty” singled out
He is notably the publisher of the first-person shooter game “Call of Duty”, which features an armed character, forced to kill his opponents with firearms or knives to fulfill his mission or defend himself. .
The subpoena against Meta and Activision was filed in a Los Angeles court and the one against Daniel Defense in Uvalde. “The Uvalde shooting was horrible and tragic and we express our support to the families and people who remain affected by this senseless act of violence,” reacted an Activision spokesperson to AFP.
She added that “millions of people play video games around the world without subsequently committing horrible acts.” Requested by AFP, Meta and Daniel Defense did not immediately respond.
100 police officers assigned
The same families and survivors subpoenaed nearly 100 Texas State Police officers Wednesday, accusing them of making mistakes during the shooting. A report from the Ministry of Justice published in January pointed out a “cascade of failures” in the reaction of the police.
Relatives of the victims also announced on Wednesday that they had reached an amicable agreement with the town hall of Uvalde, which provides for the payment of two million dollars in compensation (1.8 million francs).
Josh Koskoff made his name by obtaining, in 2022, the American arms manufacturer Remington to pay $73 million in damages to the families of nine victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting (2012).
“Latest news”
Want to stay on top of the news? “Tribune de Genève” offers you two meetings per day, directly in your email box. So you don’t miss anything that’s happening in your canton, in Switzerland or around the world.To log in
AFP
Did you find an error? Please report it to us.
0 comments
