Gun maker, store sued in death of 13-year-old

The parents of a 13-year-old Westmoreland County boy who was killed two years ago in an accidental shooting are suing the gun manufacturer and store where the gun was purchased.

Mark and Leah Gustafson filed the complaint Monday in Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court against Springfield Armory and Saloom Department Store, alleging that the manufacturer failed to use inexpensive safety features that could have prevented their son’s death. The Gustafsons are represented by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, as well as local law firm Carlson Lynch.

James “J.R.” Gustafson was shot March 20, 2016, at a home in the 100 block of South Church Street in Mount Pleasant.

John Burnsworth, who was then 14, has pleaded to delinquency involuntary manslaughter in juvenile court, the lawsuit said. Two adults also were charged in the case and have pleaded guilty to child endangerment.

The lawsuit alleges that the teen thought the gun was unloaded when he picked it up because the magazine had been removed.

He did not realize there was a live round in the gun’s chamber, and he pulled the trigger, the complaint said, killing J.R.

The lawsuit suggests that had the gun been equipped with a magazine disconnect safety — a device in existence for more than 100 years that makes a weapon inoperable if the magazine is out of it — J.R. would not have been killed.

“The industry has known for over a century that magazine disconnect safeties are an easy and inexpensive fix to this problem that would save lives,” the lawsuit said.

It also suggests that an effective loaded-chamber indicator or an internal lock would have prevented J.R.’s death.

The owner of Saloom Department Store on West Main Street in Mount Pleasant did not want to comment.

The complaint further alleges that the manufacturer and store should have known that people who possessed their guns would store them unlocked and loaded and that children could gain access to them.

“The death of J.R. was foreseeably caused by defendants’ negligence and defective design, warnings and marketing,” it said.

The lawsuit includes claims for wrongful death and product liability, as well as negligent design and sale. It seeks compensatory and punitive damages.

The Brady Center has filed a handful of similar lawsuits in other jurisdictions across the country.

“We think this is a strong case, and we look forward to presenting the case in court,” Brady Center attorney Jonathan Lowy said.