The first lawsuit has been filed against the manufacturer of the gun used in the Uvalde mass shooting at Robb Elementary School.
The legal suit against Daniel Defense was filed Thursday on behalf of Emilia Marin, a school staff member, according to a report by NBC News.
Marin’s attorney Don Flanary shared that Marin was not physically harmed in the shooting, but is struggling following the event.
“She is not well psychologically. She is a wreck,” he said. “She’s been to her doctor and she’s continuing to receive treatment. It’s going to be a long road ahead, as it is for so many other people.”
The report described Marin as a staff member who had brought food to the school for an end-of-the-year party. She ran inside of the school and closed the side door after reportedly seeing the shooter outside, but the door did not automatically lock as designed.
The filing is a pre-suit petition rather than a formal lawsuit. The action seeks to determine whether the gun manufacturer can be sued over the operation of its weapons.
The May 30 shooting killed 19 fourth-grade students and two teachers at the hands of an 18-year-old shooter who had legally purchased the firearm shortly after his 18th birthday. An additional 17 people were injured.
As of Wednesday, five patients remained hospitalized, including one 10-year-old female student in serious condition.
Daniel Defense, the manufacturer of the AR-15 reportedly used in the shooting, released a statement on its website in response to the shooting.
“We are deeply saddened by the recent tragic events in Texas. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and community devastated by this evil act,” the statement read.
As reported in Governor Abbott’s press conference, 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,” it added. “We will keep the families of the victims and the entire Uvalde community in our thoughts and our prayers.”
In addition to the tragedy involving the shooter, controversy has continued as reports have spread regarding how long law enforcement took to respond.
“Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw told reporters that 40 minutes to an hour elapsed from when Ramos opened fire on the school security officer to when the tactical team shot him, though a department spokesman said later that they could not give a solid estimate of how long the gunman was in the school or when he was killed,” the Associated Press reported on Friday.
A similar legal action followed the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 where 26 people, including 20 students, were killed by a shooter in Newton, Connecticut. Gunmaker Remington was sued in the legal case that led to a $73 million settlement in February of this year.
A report by The New York Times noted that the settlement “is believed to be the largest payout by a gun manufacturer in a mass shooting case.”
Josh Koskoff, the lead lawyer for the Sandy Hook families, released a statement following the decision.
“These nine families have shared a single goal from the very beginning: to do whatever they could to help prevent the next Sandy Hook,” Koskoff said. “It is hard to imagine an outcome that better accomplishes that goal.”