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SANTA FE, Texas – The long-awaited civil lawsuit against the parents of the Santa Fe school shooter began on Monday.
This comes six years after the tragic incident, where the shooter killed eight students and two teachers on campus. The first day of the trial involved distributing questionnaires to the jurors.
The criminal case against the shooter remains on hold due to his mental incompetence to stand trial. The civil lawsuit was filed by the victims’ families against the shooter and his parents, seeking accountability.
“Waiting these six years has been inhumane,” said Rosie Yanas Stone, the mother of Christopher, a 17-year-old who was killed in the shooting.
In 2018, the gunman entered Santa Fe High School, killing 10 people and injuring 13 others. Christopher Stone lost his life trying to protect his classmates from the attacker.
Rosie Yanas Stone, his mother, filed the civil lawsuit just six days after the incident. The suit later expanded to include the families of seven other victims and four individuals who were injured.
“The justice I want, we don’t have in Texas. Here, the only thing we can go for is monetary,” said Yanas Stone.
The lawsuit accuses the shooter’s parents of negligence, alleging they allowed their son access to their guns.
The families argue that irresponsible gun ownership should have legal consequences, including potential jail time for those who fail to secure firearms properly.
“What I’d really like to see in the future is for irresponsible gun owners to serve some jail time.
Because, at the end of the day, those are the people who are partly responsible for all of these massacres that are happening,” Yanas Stone emphasized.
According to the source, the plaintiffs’ attorney, Clint McGuire, stated they are seeking accountability.
“We filed a case against Dimitrios himself for intentionally causing these acts, and we filed a claim against his parents for failing to get him the mental help that he needed and failing to safely store their guns,” McGuire explained.
Lori Laird, the defense attorney, responded, questioning the extent of the parent’s legal duty to secure the firearms.
“The actor in this case, who was 17, almost 18 at the time this occurred, to show that the parents really have any kind of legal duty to keep these items locked up,” Laird said.
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Rosie Yanas Stone expressed her frustration with the lengthy legal process. “Waiting six years, that’s unethical. That’s not something that should be the norm.
We need a speedy, rapid judgment on these school shooters,” she said.
The jury selection is expected to take place on Tuesday, with opening arguments scheduled to begin on Wednesday.