A lawsuit filed by the parents of survivors of a shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas, alleges that the gun manufacturer, the school district, and the city failed to act on the investigation
The gun manufacturer, the school district, and the city have all been accused of negligent and recklessness in a federal lawsuit that the parents of survivors of the Robb Elementary School massacre have filed.
A shooting at Robb Elementary school that left 19 people dead, including the 18-year-old shooter, happened on May 24.
“Daniel Defense chooses not to do any studies evaluating the effects of their marketing strategies on the health and well-being of Americans and chose not to look at the cost to families and communities like Uvalde, Texas,” said the complaint.
Days before the shooting, the complaint notes, the Georgia-based company tweeted an image of a toddler holding an assault-style weapon with the caption: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
The claim also says Firequest International, Inc., which manufactures accessory trigger systems, similar to illegal bump stocks, sells its products to untrained civilians, young adults and minors in Uvalde. These types of devices allow semi-automatic rifles to fire more rapidly, similar to automatic weapons.
“The Uvalde school shooter’s background check was clean, and Oasis Outback sold him the guns and ammunition knowing he was suspicious and likely dangerous,” according to the legal document. “The store owner and his staff did not act on their suspicions and block the purchases or notify law enforcement.”
Devlin obtained the gun through a straw purchase conducted by a Norristown man on March 4, 2022, the statement from the district attorney’s office said. Straw purchases occur when someone buys a gun for another person who is legally ineligible to buy one.
Uvalde School Victims’ Lawyers Do Not Live in a Dangerous Environment, and Schneider Electric Exactly Didn’t Lock
According to the lawsuit, Pedro Arredondo, the district police chief at the time, and the former principal of the school, created a dangerous environment for the victims. Gutierrez’s attorney told CNN his client will not be commenting on the pending litigation.
“While Uvalde PD did make an early attempt to breach the classroom, they retreated and never tried again. The scene remained ‘active’ and active shooter protocol required Uvalde PD to pursue the primary goal of stopping the killing and gunman no matter how many times it takes,” said the claim.
A lawsuit claims defects in their products were factors in the response to a shooting that left thirteen people dead. Motorola Solutions, Inc.’s radio communications devices, which were used by some first responders, “were defective and unreasonably dangerous because they did not contain adequate warnings or instructions concerning failure during normal use,” said the claim.
Lawyers also say Schneider Electric, the manufacturer of the door locking mechanisms used at the school, “failed to lock as designed after being shut.”
“What happened in Uvalde was an unspeakable tragedy that we condemn in the strongest terms,” Schneider Electric spokesperson Venancio Figueroa III told CNN. “We are reviewing this recent filing but cannot comment further on pending litigation.”
Pargas and Arredondo didn’t respond to a CNN request for comment.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/29/us/uvalde-victims-lawsuit-gun-manufacturers-school-district/index.html
Investigating a 911 Shooting at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia: A 911 Call from the Caller Khloeie Torres
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly included an extra plaintiff’s name. That person is not a party in the complaint and the name has been removed.
A student at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, which was locked down onFriday after a student shot a teacher, described the terrifying moment when the school was put on a shelter in place.
That caller was student Khloie Torres. She was 10 at the time. It would be 40 minutes from the time of her first call until law enforcement forced their way into her classroom.
According to reports, the newly surfaced recordings include more than 20 calls, including those between officers and dispatchers, and reveal a chaotic response without clear communication. At least one time a dispatcher gave misinformation to personnel.
The law enforcement response to the shooting has been widely criticized due to agencies failing to take responsibility and blaming each other. Some top officials have been let go.
According to the reports, a medic says that they are taking too long. That was minutes before Khloie Torres started her third 911 call. She survived the shooting.
The officers did not hear screams or cry because they did not see what was happening behind the closed doors, even though they heard gunshots.
Officers still did not breach the classroom after a responding officer’s wife, a fourth-grade teacher at the school, was shot, and called her husband saying she was “dying.”
He acknowledged there were victims at 12:20 p.m., saying on footage obtained through another officer’s body cam that “We have victims in there. I don’t want to have any more. You know what I’m saying?”
A teacher made up claims that 27 students and a teacher were stabbed at a Green Valley Elementary School and they were taken to a nearby cafe
Law enforcement and the school district are trying to determine why a teacher made up claims that a number of students were stabbed at the school before walking 27 students off campus.
The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office released a news release that said they got a call about multiple stabbings at Green Valley Elementary School. It’s approximately 40 minutes west of Baltimore.
Instead, deputies quickly found out there had not been any stabbings in the school but that 27 students and a teacher were missing, the sheriff’s office said. The students and teacher were found at a local cafe by authorities, the sheriff’s office said. All the students who went missing were located and accounted for, authorities said.
The district said the teacher believed there was a concern for safety and acted in a way that was called the “avoid strategy”, which is used when the staff and students believe there is a danger to student safety.
The teacher made the decision to lead her students through the woods to a nearby cafe because she took part in emergency management procedures.
“As they are walking through the woods, she has the children remove any brightly colored clothing or accessories and removes her own brightly colored shirt to avoid detection,” the sheriff’s office added.
The people who know about it failed us and they failed the security of everyone that is inside that school.
The teacher was taken into custody, which does not mean she was criminally arrested or charged, authorities said. She was taken to a hospital for evaluation but was not handcuffed, they added.
The school district said school officials held a meeting for parents of the impacted students to get more information and services for the children and will also have additional mental health staff at the school over the coming says for children and staff who need support, district officials said.
When a 6-year-old teacher accidentally shot his first grade teacher in Newport News, Virginia, on January 6, 2018, the school district that killed the teacher
“We were doing math … an announcer came on she was like, ‘lockdown, I repeat lockdown,’” said fifth grader Novah Jones, who was located in a different classroom. I hid under my desk since I wasn’t sure what to do and I was scared.
The cases are particularly concerning after police said a six-year-old shot his first-grade teacher in Virginia on January 6. The teacher is recovering from a gunshot wound to the chest and the school has since reopened with new security measures in place, including metal detectors.
The teacher in the Newport News public school district is not a known name, but her alma mater James Madison University is.
The 6-year-old boy was taken into police custody, Police Chief Steve Drew said in a news conference, adding that “this was not an accidental shooting.”
At the time, the police chief said that the student shot at the Zwerner after he pointed the gun at her.
Following the shooting, the school closed for roughly three weeks and returned with added security measures including metal detectors and clear backpacks.
Novah had trouble sleeping that night, worried that he was going to come to her house and still have the gun.
Novah is one of numerous children to grapple with the trauma of a shooting at school. While gun violence is uncommon in the US, shootings in schools have become much more common than any other country. In 2022, there were at least 60 shootings at K-12 schools, according to a CNN analysis.
As the investigation continues, the elementary school will remain closed Monday and Tuesday to give the community “time to heal,” Principal Briana Foster Newton said in a statement.
The Mayor of Newport News, Phillip D. Jones, said that it is almost impossible to wrap your head around the fact that a 6-year-old brought a loaded handgun to school and shot a teacher.
Authorities are “working diligently to get an answer to the question we are all asking – how did this happen? We are also working to ensure the child receives the supports and services he needs as we continue to process what took place,” Jones said.
The Superintendent of Richneck Elementary School, Incidentally Shooting a 6-year-old Teacher, and the School Administrator’s E-mail
The response from the district was swift, with the school board voting to oust Superintendent Dr. George Parker III. The district did not say where Briana FosterNewton was relocated, but she was returned to Richneck Elementary School.
According to the legal notice, the 6-year-old boy who shot his first-grade teacher has a history of disturbing behavior that included cursing at staff members, trying to whip students with his belt and choking a teacher.
The principal and assistant principal were both present at the time of the shooting. Briana Foster Newton is still employed with Newport News Public Schools. Dr. Ebony PARKER resigned from her position. That is all that I can share at this time,” the district told CNN Sunday.
The district said that Lynch will lead the Richneck team and coordinate the students’ return to instruction.
Steve Drew said that there have been no school resource officers assigned to Richneck. The doors in classroom areas are without one and others have been repaired or replaced, according to the district.
Administrator Lynch sent an email to students and their families, showing new protocols for the first day of full instruction.
Lynch told families to send their children to school without a book bag as the school would give them clear bags for use on Monday, and that they were encouraged to use their usual mode of transportation.
The school will be limiting visitors in the school leading during this first week of instruction to allow “staff the opportunity to establish routines and procedures with students,” according to the email. Parents are not allowed to enter classrooms and those who chose to walk their children to class must show identification and are also subject to search, it added.
An Amazon Wish List for Emotional Support in the Aftermath of a High School Shooting: A Case Study on a Shooting Student in Virginia
The school shared an Amazon wish list of emotional support items that teachers requested for students to aid in the healing process in a post on their Facebook account on Sunday evening.
“This is a scary situation, my son is still scared,” Garcia told CNN. “He wants to go back to school, but he just wants to know that he’s gonna to be safe, and that’s the biggest thing.”
Zwerner was released from the hospital last month, a hospital spokesperson confirmed. The teacher has undergone four surgeries since the shooting, NBC reported, most recently on her hand, which Zwerner still cannot fully use.
A group of students on a school bus with a 6-year-old showed the school’s secretary how they had weapons and bullets, causing police to be alert to the gun on the campus.
After the shooting, the boy was placed under temporary detention order and was evaluated at a local hospital. He remains unidentified publicly, but his family has been releasing statements through their attorney.
It is a crime in Virginia to leave a loaded gun in a way that could endanger a child under the age of 14. A child under the age of 12 is not allowed to use a firearm.
A Newport News School student brought a gun to school, charged with felony endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment
In a legal notice sent to officials of the Newport News School Board on January 24th, Diane Toscano said that her client, a teacher at Richneck Elementary School, was going to file a lawsuit against administrators.
According to the legal notice, the child displayed some warning signs of violence. The student has a disability according to his family.
More people were not harmed, according to the legal notice. According to the legal notice, the man with the gun in his pocket spent his entire recess with many of his first graders playing.
CNN obtained the legal notice from the Newport News School District. The district didn’t comment after giving the document to CNN.
“The fact of the matter is that those who were aware that the student may have had a gun on the premises that day did not report this to Mrs. Newton at all,” Branch said.
A woman in Pennsylvania and a man in North Carolina were charged this week after a six-year-old in each case brought a gun to school, officials said, marking at least three times an elementary school student has brought a weapon to campus this year, including when a six-year-old allegedly shot his teacher in Newport News, Virginia, last month.
In Pennsylvania, a mother in Norristown was arrested after her 6-year-old son brought a gun to Joseph K. Gotwals Elementary School on February 9, prosecutors said.
Jasmin Devlin, 30, turned herself in Tuesday and has been arraigned on charges of felony endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment for failing to secure a firearm in her home, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. It is unclear if Devlin currently has an attorney.
Police believe the boy found the weapon – a 9 mm Jimenez Arms semi-automatic handgun – in a dresser in his mother’s room the night before bringing it to school, prosecutors said. His 10-year-old brother took the bullets out of the gun and was pointing it at his brother, pretending to shoot him, the news release said. The 6-year-old told detectives he returned to his mother’s room in the middle of the night, put the firearm in his backpack and took it to school, according to the release.
Marvin Ray Davis, 58, of the Rocky Mount Elementary School, is charged with misdemeanor improper storage of a firearm to protect a minor
Devlin’s bond was set at $50,000 and she’s been ordered to not have contact with children as part of her bond conditions. The case will be heard in February.
In North Carolina, Marvin Ray Davis, 58, was charged with a misdemeanor count of improper storage of a firearm to protect a minor after an unloaded 9 mm handgun was discovered in a 6-year-old’s backpack at Fairview Elementary on Tuesday, according to a news release from the Rocky Mount Police Department.
The child was taken from the classroom after the backpack was secured. There were no threats made with the weapon and it was never displayed by the child,” police said.
Davis is not related to the child but did live in the same home, a department spokesperson told CNN. The release said that he would appear in court on March 1 and that he was given a $4,000 bond.
It’s unclear if Davis has an attorney and CNN has made several attempts to contact him. CNN contacted the Nash County Public Schools for comment.
The situation should be a reminder for gun owners to secure their weapons in a safe manner so they can not be used by people under the age of 18. “This was a preventable situation,” he added.
A New Providence News Story About the NBC Comes to Fix a Boundary: A Newly Informed Look at the Case of Zwerner
Zwerner told NBC that some days he can not get out of bed. On some days I am able to get out of bed and make it to my appointments. But from going through what I’ve gone through, I try to stay positive.”
The Commonwealth’s Attorney in Newport News told WTKR that the boy who allegedly shot Zwerner won’t be charged.