The lawsuit against Pete Arredondo, a Uvalde school shooter, filed on behalf of his parents and two children in June 2005

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the parents and their children, including the wounded boy identified as “G.M.” in the document. The 9-year-old hid in a nearby classroom with other students.

Pete Arredondo was fired as chief of the department by the district in the wake of the shooting in which state officials say he was the incident commander. The gunman killed 19 children and two teachers.

The complaint said that Daniel Defense did not do any studies about the effects of their marketing strategies on the health and well-being of Americans and did not look at the cost to families in Texas.

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. Semi-automatic rifles have the ability to fire more rapidly thanks to these types of devices.

“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 didn’t act on their suspicions, so they wouldn’t notify law enforcement.

The gunman legally purchased two AR platform rifles at a local federal firearms licensee on May 17 and on May 20. On May 18, he purchased a lot of rounds of ammunition.

The Uvalde Victims’ Lawsuit: Gun Manufacturers, the Police Chief, and the School’s Principal, Pedro Arredondo

The lawsuit alleges that the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, Pedro “Pete” Arredondo, who was the district police chief at the time, and the school’s former principal created a dangerously unsafe environment for the students. The attorney for Gutierrez told CNN that his client will not be commenting on the litigation.

While UvaldePD tried to break into the classroom, they retreated and never tried again. The scene remained an active shooter scene, no matter how many times it takes, according to the claim.

The suit also faults Lt. Mariano Pargas, the city’s acting police chief on the day of the massacre, as well as two other companies, claiming defects in their products were factors in the response to the shooting. The radios used by some first responders were dangerous because they did not have adequate warnings about failure, according to 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.”

Schneider Electric condemns in the strongest terms the tragedy in Uvalde, says Venancio Figueroa III. We are looking at this filing but cannot comment on pending litigation.

Pargas and Arredondo have not responded to a request for comment.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/29/us/uvalde-victims-lawsuit-gun-manufacturers-school-district/index.html

Why did a student shoot his first grade teacher? A lawsuit against the school district that shut down the operation of their police department in Uvalde, Texas

An earlier version of the story mentioned an extra lawsuit. That person is not a party in the complaint and the name has been removed.

The school district in Uvalde, Texas stopped the operations of their police department on Friday due to ongoing questions about their officers’ response to the May 24 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School and a protest by victims’ parents.

On Friday, the school district said in a statement that it had placed the officer who took over for Mr. Arredondo, Lt. Miguel Hernandez, and another district employee, Ken Mueller, on administrative leave. Mr. Mueller, the director of student services, had decided to retire, the statement said.

A legal notice was forwarded to the school board by the parents of the Virginia boy who shot his first-grade teacher.

Novah Jones, who was located in a different classroom, said that an anchor came on and said, “lock down,I repeat lock down.” “I was scared … it was like my first lockdown and I didn’t know what to do, so I just hid under my desk like everybody was.”

The teacher wounded in Friday’s shooting was listed in stable condition by Saturday, according to the Newport News Police Department.

Authorities and the Newport News public school district did not name the teacher, but her alma mater, James Madison University, identified her as Abby Zwerner.

In a news conference, Police Chief Steve Drew said that the shooting was not accidental and that the boy was taken into police custody.

Two days before the shooting, the student allegedly “slammed” and broke Zwerner’s cell phone and cursed at guidance counselors, which led to his suspension, according to the document. He returned to Zwerner’s classroom after a one-day suspension and shot her.

Following the shooting, the school closed for roughly three weeks and returned with added security measures including metal detectors and clear backpacks.

Though she was able to return home safely, Novah said she had trouble sleeping that night, worried that “he still had the gun and he was going to come to my house.”

Novah is one of numerous children to grapple with the trauma of a shooting at school. Shootings in US schools, while still rare when compared with other incidents of gun violence, have become far more common than they are in any other country. In 2022, there were at least 60 shootings at K-12 schools, according to a CNN analysis.

Some parents are worried about the reopening of Richneck Elementary, since it was closed since the shooting. Mark Garcia Sr. told CNN last week that his son is in the same class as the student accused of shooting Zwerner and has been distraught since the shooting.

Newport News Mayor Philip D. Jones said on the internet that it is almost impossible to wrap your mind around the fact that a 6 year old brought a loaded handgun to school and shot a teacher.

How did this occur is something authorities are trying to get an answer to. Jones said the child gets the supports and services he needs as they continue to process what took place.

The Richneck Elementary School District of Virginia is closing in on the students’ first day of school and transferring the responsibility to Newport News Public Schools

A spokesman for the district said that the principal of Richneck Elementary School in Virginia has been moved to Newport News Public Schools.

Since a teacher was allegedly shot by a first graders at a Richneck classroom in January, the school has come under fire while students are set to resume classes for the first time.

When the shooting happened, Briana FosterNewton was the principal of Richneck Elementary, while Dr.eventbriteer served as the assistant principal. Briana Foster Newton is employed by Newport News Public Schools. Dr.Parker stepped down. That is all that I can share at this time,” the district told CNN Sunday.

Karen Lynch will serve as the administrator on special assignment “leading the Richneck team and coordinating the students’ return to instruction,” the district said.

Police Chief Steve Drew said that no school resource officers had been assigned to Richneck. In addition, doors have been installed in classroom areas without one, and others have been repaired or replaced,” the district told CNN.

Lynch sent an email to students’ families after she was appointed, mentioning new protocols for the first day of school.

Lynch encouraged families to send their children to school using “their typical mode of transportation to school and home” and asked that families send their children to school without a book bag as the school will provide them with clear book bags for use on Monday.

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.

When a High School Student Shoots a Girl, It Can Happen Again: How a School Firearm Can Endanger a Child

On the school’s Facebook account Sunday night, the school shared an Amazon Wish List of emotional support items that teachers requested for students to help in the healing process.

“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.”

The school’s alleged failure to act is “horrifying,” Garcia said, adding, “The people who know about this failed us and they failed the security measures of everyone that’s inside of that school.”

Zwerner was critically injured when a bullet passed through one of her hands and struck her chest, police have said. The teacher has since been released from hospital.

“Over the course of a few hours, three different times – three times – school administration was warned by concerned teachers and employees that the boy had a gun on him at the school and was threatening people,” attorney Diane Toscano told reporters.

On January 19, the family said the boy has an “acute disability” and was receiving care at the school. A family member usually went to class with him, but not the week of the shooting, they said.

In Virginia it is a crime for someone to leave a firearm unattended in such a way as to endanger a child under the age of 14. It is prohibited for a person to unknowingly allow a child under the age of 12 to use a firearm.

A Model Shooting Student and the Newport News School District vs. Richneck Elementary School: The Case of Abigail Zwerner

The allegations were detailed in a January 24 legal notice by attorney Diane Toscano, who sent the letter to the Newport News School Board to inform officials of a lawsuit her client, teacher Abigail Zwerner, plans to file against administrators at Richneck Elementary School.

The child displayed some warning signs of violence, according to instances described by Toscano in the legal notice. The student’s family said previously the child has a disability.

A legal notice says it is a miracle that no one was hurt. A legal notice states that the shooter spent his entire recess with a gun, with his hand in that pocket, while many first graders played.

CNN obtained the legal notice from the Newport News School District through a Freedom of Information Act request. The document was provided to CNN by the district.

The school district told CNN previously that it could not comment on whether Newton or anyone else was made aware of a potential gun on campus because that is part of an ongoing investigation.