Highland Park Shooting Survivors Take Smith & Wesson To Trial

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — A group of family members and survivors of the Independence Day Parade mass shooting in Highland Park is taking gun maker Smith & Wesson to court over the 2022 massacre.

An Illinois court Tuesday ruled that a wrongful death lawsuit against the company, which created the "M&P 15" AR-15-style weapon used in the shooting, would proceed to trail. The court also allowed claims against BudsGunShop.com and Red Dot Arms, the gun dealers who ultimately sold the gun to shooter Robert Crimo, to go forward.

The case was brought by the family of Eduardo Uvaldo, one of the seven victims killed at the Fourth of July parade shooting, as well as a group of survivors and families of children present that day. The families are represented by Sandy Hook Attorneys Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder, whose case was the first to prevail against the gun industry.

Additional families affected by the mass shooting have filed lawsuits, some being represented by law firm Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard.

“Tragically, Mr. Uvaldo’s life ended on Independence Day in what has also become an American tradition—innocent victims murdered in mass shootings carried out with a weapon of war. It’s about time that Smith & Wesson answers for its actions, and we’re grateful that they will now have their day in court,” attorney Josh Koskoff said.

The lawsuits allege that Smith & Wesson continued to market and sell its gun, pushing it to teenagers despite its use in four of the most tragic mass shootings over the last decade in Aurora, CO, San Bernardino, CA, Parkland, FL and Poway, CA.

The original complaint, filed in June 2024 in Illinois state court, also alleges the company's decision to continue marketing and selling the weapon constituted negligent entrustment and violated an Illinois state consumer protection law.

"Today’s decision brings Mr. Uvaldo’s family one step closer to holding Smith & Wesson and these gun dealers accountable and fulfilling their ultimate goal: keeping other families from knowing their indescribable pain," attorney Alinor Sterling said.

Shooter Robert Crimo III is scheduled to be sentenced at a hearing scheduled for April 23.