Midland-Odessa shooting: Families file suit against Lubbock man, arms manufacturer
ECTOR COUNTY — Nearly a year after a mass shooter went on a killing rampage in Midland-Odessa that left seven dead and 25 injured, surviving family members Friday filed a lawsuit seeking more than $1 million in damages against a Lubbock man and an arms manufacturer.
On Friday, Aug. 28, 2020, Joanna Leyva, Nathan Hernandez, Rodolfo Trejo, Gary Griffith, Sharon Griffith and Carla Griffith Byrne filed a petition in Ector County, Texas seeking over $1 million in damages against both Marcus Anthony Braziel of Lubbock and Anderson Manufacturing for their alleged role in a mass shooting.
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Surviving family members who "continue to suffer from their own wounds, mental anguish and trauma they experienced on that deadly day," filed the lawsuit Friday on behalf of Leilah Hernandez and Joseph Griffith, according to the petition.
The lawsuit, which claims the AR-15 rifle used by the mass shooter was illegally obtained through Braziel and manufactured by Anderson Arms, seeks "to hold accountable the actors that manufactured, profited from, and supplied the firearm that was used in the shooting."
Surviving family members said they also hoped "by imposing accountability on the defendants for their negligence and violations of the law, that they might prevent future gun violence and future gun deaths in Texas, and beyond," according to the petition.
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Under federal law, the shooter was prohibited from buying or possessing a weapon due to a disqualifying mental health issue, according to the petition.
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The shooter, who once failed a background check for an attempted firearm purchase, was able to buy the AR-15-style rifle in a private sale purchased from Braziel in Lubbock, according to the petition.
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Among several other citations of alleged negligence, the lawsuit claims Braziel did not posses a federal license to sell firearms, but sold a firearm to a person ineligible to possess a firearm.
Braziel made false statements in required federal records and concealed the sale of weapons from law enforcement, according to the petition.
The lawsuit also alleges that Anderson Manufacturing, a federally licensed firearms dealer, violated federal statues and regulations and had a responsibility to ensure it not sell multiple firearms to unlicensed weapons dealers like Braziel.
"On or before Aug. 31, 2019, Anderson Manufacturing knew or reasonably should have known that Braziel was engaged in unlawful gun selling," the petition states.
"(It) knew or should have known that illegally sold firearms create an unreasonable risk of harm to third parties because a foreseeable and likely consequence of illegally selling firearms is gun violence resulting in serious injury or death," according to the petition.
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