A Robb Elementary School staff member filed a petition to investigate a firearms manufacturer after it was discovered that one of its AR-15 semi-automatic rifles was used by the teenage gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers, they report.
According to documents obtained by NBC , the request for information about Georgia -based Daniel Defense was filed Thursday.
It was filed on behalf of Emilia Marin, a school worker in Uvalde, Texas , who on the day of the shooting had been bringing food to school for a New Year’s Eve party when she saw a crashed car, her attorney Don Flanary told The Associated Press. station.
He said Marin rushed into the building to grab his mobile phone and alert emergency services of the accident. But while on the phone with a 911 call manager, she went back outside, where she saw Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old dropout, jump a fence and head toward school with a gun strapped to his chest, Flanary added.
The employee had used a rock to open the door of the building when she left, and when she ran inside to hide from the armed teenager, she kicked the door shut.
Although Marin was not physically harmed in the shooting, Flanary told NBC : “He’s not doing well psychologically. She is devastated. She has been to the doctor and continues to receive treatment. She’s going to be a long road ahead, as she is for a lot of other people.”
Last week, Col. Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, told a news conference that the school gate was left ajar by the worker who ran out when she heard Ramos collide with his truck.
Despite law enforcement claims to the contrary, Flanary said earlier this week that Marin had initially opened the door to get food from a car, but closed it after realizing the gunman was on his way to school. .
Marin’s filing has been considered the first legal action in relation to the attack.
NBC reports that while not officially a lawsuit, the filing can be classified as a pre-suit petition, which will seek to determine whether Daniel Defense can be sued for the way it markets its guns.
Marin also requests that the courts establish an investigation into the company’s marketing of the rifle used in the massacre, which authorities have said was similar to those found in the hotel room of a gunman who committed a mass shooting in 2017 in Vegas.
It has since emerged that the company published an ad just eight days before the massacre, in which the image of a young child was used to promote a weapon similar to the one used by the Uvalde gunman.
“Everyone knows that school shootings are happening. It is an epidemic. So we want to know what they’re doing to change their marketing practices,” Flanary told NBC .
Turning his attention to the Robb elementary school shooter, he added: “We’re trying to investigate, did they do marketing with this person? Did they do something that made him want to buy the gun, when he shouldn’t have? And that’s what really worries us.”
A statement on the Daniel Defense website reads: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic events that occurred in Texas this week. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and community devastated by this evil act.”
“As reported at Governor [Greg] Abbott’s press conference, we understand that the firearm used in the attack was manufactured by Daniel Defense. We will cooperate with all federal, state and local authorities in their investigations.”
“We will keep the families of the victims and the entire Uvalde community in our thoughts and prayers.”