Uvalde families sue Meta, video game creator and gunmaker

“Instagram creates a connection between …an adolescent …and the gun and a gun company,” Josh Koskoff, the plaintiffs’ attorney, told the BBC’s US media partner CBS, on Friday.

“And nobody exploited Instagram for this purpose more than Daniel Defense.”

An Activision spokesperson told CBS that the “Uvalde shooting was horrendous and heartbreaking in every way”, adding that the company expresses its “deepest sympathies” to victims and their families.

“Millions of people around the world enjoy video games without turning to horrific acts”, the spokesman said.

The BBC has reached out to Meta, Daniel Defense and Activision for comment.

Daniel Defense, which is facing other lawsuits filed by some victims’ families, said in a 2022 statement that such litigation was “frivolous” and “politically motivated”.

On Wednesday, families of the victims reached a $2m (£1.5m) settlement with the city of Uvalde.

More than 370 officers from various local, state and federal departments were at Robb Elementary during the attack.

It took police more than an hour to stop the gunman, who was barricaded inside adjoining classrooms.

Additionally, the families announced that they will be taking new legal action against 92 individual officers from the state’s Department of Public Safety for “shocking and extensive failures” during the shooting response.

With files from Peter Bowes