COLORADO, USA — Nearly two years after the mass shooting at a King Soopers in Boulder, prosecution of the suspect remains on hold due to his mental competency. But that's not stopping victims from searching for justice in a different way.
The gun used in the grocery store shooting was a pistol, according to the arrest affidavit, but the AR-556 looks and acts a lot like a rifle.
In a lawsuit, Nate Getz, the son of shooting victim Suzanne Fountain, alleges the gun manufacturer, Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act through deceptive marketing of its AR-556 pistol.
"He wants justice. His mother died," attorney Phil Harding said.
Harding said the lawsuit was filed in Connecticut because that's where Ruger is based.
The lawsuit alleges Ruger engaged in deceptive marketing by making a gun that's legally classified as a pistol, but with just enough changes to evade regulations a rifle would fall under.
"They use the same bullets, they fire the same amount, they're just as deadly, but they did that, and they followed the law on that," Harding said. "But in many states it's easier to get a pistol than to get a rifle."
The lawsuit is similar to one families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims filed against the gun manufacturer Remington.
They also alleged Remington was in violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, and received $73 million in a settlement last year.
"I've got no problem with the Second Amendment, but when you're using it, when you're twisting it to get something out here to the wrong people, that go out and cause all of these deaths, something needs to change," Harding said.
Families of the Boulder grocery store shooting victims have until March 22 to be part of this lawsuit.
9NEWS sent Ruger an email asking for comment Tuesday afternoon, but as of publication of this story we have not heard back.
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