Aug 10, 2000 - 09:09 PM
Parents Sue Gun Makers Over Jewish Center
Shootings
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Victims' relatives are suing the companies
that made and sold the weapons that a white supremacist
allegedly used to kill a postman and wound five people at a Jewish
community center last year.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, claims that Glock Inc. and other
makers of guns seized from Buford O. Furrow share some
responsibility for the Aug. 10, 1999, crimes. It seeks unspecified
damages.
Furrow is accused of wounding three boys, a teen-age girl and a
woman at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in the San
Fernando Valley, and then killing Filipino-American letter carrier
Joseph Ileto hours later.
Furrow, a convicted felon with a history of mental instability,
should not have been allowed to build an arsenal of semiautomatic
and assault-style weapons, said Joshua Horwitz, the attorney
representing the postman's mother and the parents of three
wounded children.
"It's not good enough to let guns go out your factory door and say,
'Sorry, we don't know where they're headed,'" Horwitz said.
"Companies like Glock need to make sure the retail purchaser is
the end purchaser and not turn their back on the distribution of
deadly weapons."
Paul Jannuzzo, Glock's vice president and general counsel, said
Thursday morning that he had not yet heard of the suit and could
not comment.
Victims and relatives have a deadline of a year after an event to
bring such lawsuits.
Furrow is accused of using a 9 mm Glock pistol that he bought at
a pawnshop to kill Ileto. In addition to Glock, the defendants
include makers or sellers of the six other guns seized from Furrow.
Furrow has pleaded innocent, and his team of public defenders
has launched an effort to save him from the death penalty.
In a private ceremony to remember the victims on the anniversary
of the shooting Thursday, about 250 children at the North Valley
Jewish Community Center sang songs and released butterflies into
the air.
The purpose was for the children and counselors to celebrate
among themselves "for pulling together and being there to support
each other through the year during a very wonderful time of
growth," said Lysa Barry of Barry & Associates, which is providing
public relations services for the center.
AP-ES-08-10-00 2106EDT
© Copyright 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Brought to you by the Tampa Bay Online Network
Parents Sue Gun Makers Over Jewish Center
Shootings
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Victims' relatives are suing the companies
that made and sold the weapons that a white supremacist
allegedly used to kill a postman and wound five people at a Jewish
community center last year.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, claims that Glock Inc. and other
makers of guns seized from Buford O. Furrow share some
responsibility for the Aug. 10, 1999, crimes. It seeks unspecified
damages.
Furrow is accused of wounding three boys, a teen-age girl and a
woman at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in the San
Fernando Valley, and then killing Filipino-American letter carrier
Joseph Ileto hours later.
Furrow, a convicted felon with a history of mental instability,
should not have been allowed to build an arsenal of semiautomatic
and assault-style weapons, said Joshua Horwitz, the attorney
representing the postman's mother and the parents of three
wounded children.
"It's not good enough to let guns go out your factory door and say,
'Sorry, we don't know where they're headed,'" Horwitz said.
"Companies like Glock need to make sure the retail purchaser is
the end purchaser and not turn their back on the distribution of
deadly weapons."
Paul Jannuzzo, Glock's vice president and general counsel, said
Thursday morning that he had not yet heard of the suit and could
not comment.
Victims and relatives have a deadline of a year after an event to
bring such lawsuits.
Furrow is accused of using a 9 mm Glock pistol that he bought at
a pawnshop to kill Ileto. In addition to Glock, the defendants
include makers or sellers of the six other guns seized from Furrow.
Furrow has pleaded innocent, and his team of public defenders
has launched an effort to save him from the death penalty.
In a private ceremony to remember the victims on the anniversary
of the shooting Thursday, about 250 children at the North Valley
Jewish Community Center sang songs and released butterflies into
the air.
The purpose was for the children and counselors to celebrate
among themselves "for pulling together and being there to support
each other through the year during a very wonderful time of
growth," said Lysa Barry of Barry & Associates, which is providing
public relations services for the center.
AP-ES-08-10-00 2106EDT
© Copyright 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Brought to you by the Tampa Bay Online Network
