Buffalo shooting victims sue social media platforms and gun distributors

A lawsuit has been filed against social media companies, body armour manufacturers and a gun shop over a mass shooting at a New York supermarket that left 10 people dead.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump alleged the companies had helped the gunman "load that gun" and were "conspirators, even if they don't want to admit it".

The suit was filed on behalf of family members who lost loved ones in the May 2022 rampage in the city of Buffalo.

The gunman is serving a life sentence.

In a racially-motivated rampage, the 18-year-old white supremacist drove some 200 miles (320km) to a predominantly black community in Buffalo and gunned down shoppers inside the Tops Friendly Market.

His victims were Ruth Whitfield, 86; Roberta Drury, 32; Aaron Salter, 55; Heyward Patterson, 67; Pearl Young, 77; Geraldine Talley, 62; Celestine Chaney, 65; Katherine Massey, 72; Margus Morrison, 52; and, Andre Mackneil, 53.

He posted a manifesto online and also live-streamed his attack.

Three people were shot dead in the car park and the other seven were killed inside the supermarket, with three others wounded. All but one was black.

"This is one step closer to trying to get justice," said Mr Crump, who announced the lawsuit alongside victims' family members at a Buffalo church on Wednesday.

Among the companies named in the lawsuit are Vintage Firearms, the gun store where the weapons were legally purchased; Twitch, the live-streaming service the attacker used; Facebook; YouTube; Google; and, Amazon.

Most were not immediately available for comment, but a spokesperson for YouTube told the BBC: "We have the deepest sympathies for the victims and families of the horrific attack at Tops grocery store in Buffalo last year."

"Through the years, YouTube has invested in technology, teams, and policies to identify and remove extremist content," said Jose Castaneda. "We regularly work with law enforcement, other platforms, and civil society to share intelligence and best practices."

Remington, the manufacturer of the AR-15-style rifle used by the gunman, is not named in the suit. The company recently filed for bankruptcy and co-counsel Terry Connors said "we felt that if we were to bring a claim against them, that would only slow us down in litigation".

Last year, Remington settled for $73m (£56m) with families who lost loved ones in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

A wave of lawsuits have been filed against gunmakers in the wake of that settlement, while states like California and New York have sought to hold manufacturers and distributors liable for shootings.

In May, the families of three victims in Buffalo filed a wrongful death lawsuit against multiple social media companies.