Lawsuits filed on behalf of the victims of the Uvalde school shooting have been revealed and they name Daniel Defense (a weapons manufacturer), Meta, and Call of Duty publisher, Activision Blizzard.
The lawsuits were revealed on 24 May by Josh Koskoff, who is representing the families. He said: “There is a direct line between the conduct of these companies and the Uvalde shooting.”
The shooting, which took place at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas in 2022, resulted in the deaths of nineteen students and two teachers. The perpetrator, Salvador Ramos, was killed by police.
Regarding Call of Duty‘s involvement in the shooting, the complaint alleges that the game “creates a vividly realistic and addicting theater of violence in which teenage boys learn to kill with frightening skill and ease.”
According to the lawsuit, Ramos played Call of Duty and became fixated on owning an assault-style rifle manufactured by Daniel Defense that features in the game.
The complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, also accuses Instagram (owned by Meta) of granting weapons manufacturers “an unsupervised channel to speak directly to minors, in their homes, at school, even in the middle of the night.”
In a statement, Koskoff explained how the weapons industry, social media, and video games have come together to influence young people:
“The truth is that the gun industry and Daniel Defense didn’t act alone. They couldn’t have reached this kid but for Instagram. They couldn’t expose him to the dopamine loop of virtually killing a person. That’s what Call of Duty does.” He continued, “This three-headed monster [Daniel Defense, Meta, and Activision Blizzard] knowingly exposed the Shooter to the weapon, conditioned him to see it as the solution to his problems, and trained him to use it.”
While this is far from the first time that violent video games, like Call of Duty, have been implicated in mass shootings, the consequences of the lawsuit against Activision Blizzard being successful could be significant. After all, hundreds of games also allow players to pick up digital firearms and re-enact killing.
What’s your take on the lawsuit? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles…
