A lawsuit has been filed against a school shooter and his family as the latter failed to secure a cache of over 50 firearms from others, that were collected from the family home after the shooter had shot and paralyzed the victim and killed three of his friends, as reported by the Courthouse News Service and ABC News.
The victim, N.W., was wounded during the 2012 school shooting at Chardon High. The lawsuit contends that one of the unsecured guns in the plaintiff's home was used in the assault.
Named in the suit is the shooter Thomas (T.J.) M. Lane III; his parents, T.L. Jr. and S.N.; his guardians, J.N. and C.N.; his uncle, D.L.; and his grandparents, T.L. and M.L. The suit was filed in Lake County Court.
The families of the three students Lane shot and killed filed wrongful death lawsuits this past March – and also named the Lane family as defendants.
The suit states, "Following the shooting, law enforcement officers from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), the Geauga County Sheriff's Department, and the Chardon Police Department, entered the home of defendants (T.L. and M.L.) pursuant to a search warrant.
At the scene, officers confirmed that the weapon used by T.J. Lane had been taken by him from the home. During the search, officers found over fifty firearms scattered throughout the home, none of which were properly secured or stored.
The weapons were found laying [sic] throughout the home in an open manner either loaded or in close proximity to ammunition. No effort had been taken by defendants, (D.L., T.L. and M.L.) to secure the weapons from others, including minor, T.J. Lane.
T.J. Lane had easy access to these weapons and ammunition when he selected this firearm for the planned shooting the next day. At all times mentioned herein, the (T.L. and M.L.) home was also occupied by a convicted felon, (T.L. Jr.), who was unlawfully permitted to own, control or have access to firearms."
Since the shooting T.J. Lane pleaded guilty in Geauga County, Ohio, to three counts of aggravated murder with a firearm. He was sentenced to three consecutive life terms without eligibility of parole "plus eight (8) years for a fourth count of attempted aggravated murder, six (6) years for a fifth count of attempted aggravated murder, and six (6) years for a sixth count of felonious assault."
During court proceedings T.J. Lane showed a complete lack of remorse for the killings by flipping off the victim's families and wearing a T-shit the read "killer" across it during his sentencing in March.
According to the press the victim "was shot twice in the neck, once in the back and once in the arm. He was left paralyzed after one of the bullets hit his spinal cord. He was friends with the three teens who were killed."
The victim, for assault and battery, negligence and parental statutory liability, seeks both compensatory and punitive damages.
Contact a personal injury lawyer if the negligence of another party has caused you to sustain an injury. A jury or judge will consider your damages when deciding on a monetary award.