HARTFORD, Conn. (WCBS 880) — Remington Arms Co. offered Tuesday to settle almost $33 million with families of the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, according to Reuters.
Nine of the families affected by the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting that killed 26 people, including 20 children, are expected to receive $3.66 million each from the major American gunmaker, per approval by an Alabama federal judge overseeing their bankruptcy case.
The families' lawsuit against Remington comes amid claims it utilized marketing tactics that led gunman Adam Lanza to use a Bushmaster AR-15 style rifle made by the gun company in the Dec. 2012 massacre.
Their lawyers also estimated in a February court filing that a wrongful death claim would total over $225 million, with total losses that could exceed $1 billion.
"Since this case was filed in 2014, the families' focus has been on preventing the next Sandy Hook," Josh Koskoff, one of the families' attorneys said in a statement. "An important part of that goal has been showing banks and insurers that companies that sell assault weapons to civilians are fraught with financial risk."
Following the company first filing for Chapter 11 protection in 2018, Remington filed for bankruptcy last July after retailers pulled gun sales in reaction to more mass shootings.
The 20-year-old Lanza killed his mother at their home before going to the school where he fatally shot six educators and 20 first graders before killing himself with a handgun.