Sixteen people who witnessed a white supremacist shoot dead 10 black residents in a supermarket in Buffalo City, New York, last year are suing social media and firearms-related companies to hold them accountable for causing them emotional trauma.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday (15/8) in state court in the City of Buffalo, makes YouTube and Reddit the defendants. Both platforms are places where the perpetrator, Payton Gendron, was allegedly radicalized through exposure to harmful content and studying information to help carry out his attacks.
Apart from the two technology companies, three firearms retailers – Mean Arms, Vintage Firearms and RMA Armament, which allegedly sold Gendron’s firearm equipment and bulletproof vest – were also sued.
Alphabet and Google, which owns YouTube, are also defendants.
Apart from these companies, Gendron’s parents were also strengthened.
The civil suit was filed by the non-profit organization Everytown for Gun Safety.
Although the defendants are facing another civil case regarding the mass shooting at the Tops supermarket on May 14, 2022, the civil case filed on Tuesday is different, because the plaintiffs did not suffer serious physical injuries or even have a relationship with the victim.
The plaintiffs include store employees and customers who claim that the incident left them with long-term emotional trauma as well as a variety of symptoms, including anxiety, depression, insomnia, lethargy and nightmares.
Gendron, who was 18 at the time of the attack, was sentenced to life in prison without parole last February after pleading guilty to the various charges he faces, including murder and hate terrorism. New York state does not have the death penalty. (rd/lt)
