Families of Sandy Hook victims settle with Remington

A company that made a rifle used in one of the deadliest school shootings in the US has settled with the families of victims.

The settlement from Remington Arms comes in response to a lawsuit brought by the families of nine of 26 victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre.

The case marks the first time a gunmaker has been held accountable for a mass shooting.

The families say Remington was negligent.

The details of the settlement have not yet been disclosed, although the families are expected to comment further at a news conference later Tuesday.

Last July, Remington - the oldest gun-maker in the US - offered $33 million to (£24m) to each of the families, falling far short of the $225m they'd sought in court.

During court hearings in February, attorneys for the family said that total punitive claims could possibly exceed $1bn.

In their lawsuit, the families of five adults and four children who died in the shooting argued that the company marketed its weapons to high-risk and potentially unstable individuals such as Sandy Hook gunman Adam Lanza.

Remington, which was founded in 1816 and is based in North Carolina, has denied the allegations.

Twenty children and six teachers were killed at the 2012 school shooting in Connecticut, shocking the US - a country already familiar with mass shooting and gun crimes in schools.

Despite the deaths of young children aged six and seven, no new national gun control laws were passed in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting.