LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A group of survivors and victims' families from the Old National Bank shooting have hired an attorney to file a lawsuit against the gun manufacturer that makes the gun used in the mass shooting.
On April 10, 2023, Connor Sturgeon, 25, opened fire on a conference room of co-workers. Five people were killed and more a dozen others were injured.
The gunman purchased the rifle just days before the shooting.
Attorney Tad Thomas told WHAS11 News he was hired by Jim Tutt's widow and five others who were wounded during the shooting at the downtown bank.
Tutt was one of the five people killed in the tragedy.
"They all want to make sure that weapons of mass destruction are not in the hands of people that are mentally unable to handle them – and that's what this lawsuit is about," Thomas said.
What we know about the lawsuit
Thomas said the group will be taking aim at Radical Firearms. The Texas-based company manufacturers the AR-15 that was used by the gunman.
"We want to hold these manufacturers responsible for how they market their products, and we want to find a way to keep these weapons out of the hands of people who are in dark days, mentally, and prevent these mass shootings from happening as they are all over the country," Thomas said.
He says the lawsuit can be filed once the LMPD investigation findings are released.
Thomas, along with Chicago-based law firm Romanucci & Blandin, are working on their own investigation into how the weapon was manufactured and marketed.
"We believe that the manufacturer in this case violated the Kentucky state law in the way it marketed and sold this firearm," Thomas said.
He also said he is currently talking to attorneys who are representing other victims from the shooting and they may work together on the case. Thomas added the goal is to have the lawsuit filed by the end of this year.
At the end of the day, Thomas said he hopes the families and survivors find justice.
"We hope that this process that we go through and litigation will eventually be cathartic. And it's…the families are standing up for their loved ones. In the cases of the wounded, fighting for themselves. And we're going to be there with them all along the way," Thomas said.
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