Father of child killed in Uvalde, retains lawyers who sued makers of rifle used in Sandy Hook

This petition was filed on behalf of the father of Amerie Jo Garza.

ByAaron Katersky
June 3, 2022, 3:33 PM

The Connecticut lawyers who successfully sued the maker of the rifle used in the 2012 Newtown, Connecticut, shooting filed a letter Friday seeking documents and records from Daniel Defense, maker of the rifle used in the Uvalde, Texas, shooting May 24.

This petition was filed on behalf of the father of Amerie Jo Garza, one of the 19 children killed in the rampage by the alleged gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos.

PHOTO: Pallbearers carry the casket of Amerie Jo Garza to her burial site in Uvalde, Texas, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Garza was one of the students killed in last week's shooting at Robb Elementary School.
Pallbearers carry the casket of Amerie Jo Garza to her burial site in Uvalde, Texas, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Garza was one of the students killed in last week's shooting at Robb Elementary School.
Jae C. Hong/AP

Alfred Garza, Amerie Jo's father, is being represented by attorneys Josh Koskoff, who obtained a $73 million settlement to nine families of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting victims, and Texas-based attorneys Mikal Watts and Charla Aldous, according to a press release.

"We have to honor her and make sure we do good. From this day forward, I want to live my life for my daughter," Garza told David Muir in a recent "World News Tonight" interview.

"My purpose for being now is to honor Amerie Jo's memory," Garza also said in the statement. "She would want to me to do everything I can so this will never happen again to any other child. I have to fight her fight."

"Daniel Defense has said that they are praying for the Uvalde families. They should back up those prayers with meaningful action," said Josh Koskoff of Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder. "If they really are sincere in their desire to support these families, they will provide the information that Mr. Garza has requested without delay or excuse. Either way, we will do a complete and thorough investigation, leaving no stone unturned."

PHOTO: Flowers, toys, and other objects to remember the victims of the deadliest U.S. school mass shooting in nearly a decade, are pictured at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 30, 2022.
Flowers, toys, and other objects to remember the victims of the deadliest U.S. school mass shooting in nearly a decade, resulting in the death of 19 children and two teachers, are pictured at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 30, 2022.
Veronica Cardenas/Reuters

The petition letter is a precursor to a lawsuit that could seek to hold the gunmaker liable despite a federal shield for gunmakers that President Joe Biden asked the nation to repeal in his Thursday night speech.

A similar petition was filed Friday by Robb Elementary teacher Emilia Marin, whose lawyer spoke this week to ABC News.

In February, the families of five children and four adults killed in the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School announced a landmark victory in their long-running case against Remington, the company that made and marketed the AR-15 weapon used in the Newton massacre.