Texas judge says Sutherland Springs families can sue store that sold church shooter his gun, ammunition
Updated Monday, Feb. 4, 2019 at 10:35 a.m. with the judge's decision and more information about a federal lawsuit, and Friday, Feb. 1, 2019 at 5:26 p.m. with photos from the hearing.
SAN ANTONIO — A Texas judge has decided that victims and families of the Sutherland Springs church massacre can sue the sporting goods store where the shooter purchased his gun and ammunition.
In a case that could have big implications for gun laws here and across the country, Bexar County District Court Judge Karen Pozza on Monday denied Academy Sports + Outdoors request that the lawsuit be thrown out. Her decision means the lawsuit will proceed and could eventually go to a jury trial.
Pozza's order on summary judgment did not explain her decision.
The Sutherland Springs families allege the chain is liable for shooter Devin P. Kelley's carnage because employees at one of its Texas retailers sold him a high capacity magazine illegal in Colorado, his state of residence. The families are asking for millions in damages for physical and mental anguish, disfigurement and medical expenses.
The lawsuit could test the limits of state and federal gun laws and may answer some long-standing, hotly contested legal questions, like whether gun dealers must decline to sell certain items based on the buyer's place of residence and whether shooting victims can file civil suits, and get monetary damages, from these dealers in certain circumstances.
Lawyers for both sides went head-to-head in what was at times a heated debate on Thursday. During the nearly three-hour hearing, they argued over federal and state laws, and whether the store should have refused to sell Kelley the gun with which he killed and injured dozens at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs on Nov. 5, 2017.
At the heart of the case is whether the federal definition of a firearm includes the magazine with which it is sold, and if a Colorado law banning the sale of high-capacity magazines applies to Coloradans who buy guns in Texas.
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Texas judge says Sutherland Springs families can sue store that sold church shooter his gun, ammunition | Courts | Dallas News