The families of nine of the 26 victims of the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., have filed a lawsuit against "the manufacturer, distributor and seller" of the rifle that was used by the gunman, Al-Jazeera reports.
"The negligence and wrongful death lawsuit, filed in Bridgeport Superior Court on Monday, asserts that the Bushmaster AR-15 rifle should not have been made publicly available because it was designed for military use and is unsuited for hunting or home defense," Al-Jazeera explains.
The suit argues that the capabilities of the gun in the hands of a civilian contributed to the mass casualties. "The AR-15 was specifically engineered for the United States military to meet the needs of changing warfare," Josh Koskoff, an attorney for the families, said in a press statement.
"In fact, one of the Army's specifications for the AR-15 was that it has the capability to penetrate a steel helmet," the release continued.
Bill Sherlach, whose wife was killed during the shooting, said that the gun industry "needs to be held to 'standard business practices' when it comes to assuming the risk for producing, making and selling a product."
According to Al-Jazeera, "the lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages."
Read more at Al-Jazeera.