Victims’ Families Suing Gun Makers

Parents of three children wounded at the North Valley Jewish Community Center one year ago today and the family of the postman killed after the attack are suing gun makers for allegedly allowing weapons to fall into the hands of the accused gunman, Buford O. Furrow Jr.

The suit, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claims Glock Inc. and other makers of guns in Furrow’s possession carelessly marketed and sold their weapons and share some of the blame for Joseph Ileto’s death and the attack at the Granada Hills center, which left five wounded.

Furrow, a convicted felon with a history of mental instability, should not have been allowed to build an arsenal of semiautomatic and assault-style weapons, said Joshua Horwitz, the attorney representing the families.

“It’s not good enough to let guns go out your factory door and say, ‘Sorry, we don’t know where they’re headed,’ ” said Horwitz, executive director of the Washington-based Educational Fund to End Handgun Violence.

“Companies like Glock need to make sure the retail purchaser is the end purchaser and not turn their back on the distribution of deadly weapons.”

Representatives at Glock Inc.’s U.S. office in Smyrna, Ga., could not be reached for comment Wednesday. The company is based in Austria.

Furrow, an avowed neo-Nazi, used a 9-millimeter Glock pistol he bought at a pawnshop to kill Ileto in a Chatsworth driveway, authorities said.

The suit is similar to lawsuits filed by a number of cities nationwide, including Los Angeles, that blame gun makers for alleged irresponsible distribution, Horwitz said.

But this case is different, Horwitz added, because it names specific victims of gun violence--instead of alleging harm to society measured in crime statistics or emergency room costs.

The plaintiffs in the suit are Lilian Ileto, Joseph’s mother; Loren Lieb and Alan Stepakoff, suing on behalf of their son Joshua Stepakoff, who was shot in the leg; David and Donna Finkelstein, on behalf of their daughter Mindy, a 17-year-old, also shot in the leg; and Charles and Eleanor Kadish, whose 6-year-old son, Ben, was nearly killed by a bullet to the stomach.

Also suing are the parents of Nathan Powers, a boy who was at the day camp when the shooting occurred and suffered emotional, though no physical, damage. Horwitz said Powers’ participation may open the door for others who were not physically harmed to join the legal action.

In addition to Glock, the named defendants include makers or sellers of the six other guns seized from Furrow: China North Industries Corp., Davis Industries; Republic Arms Inc.; Jimmy L. Davis, a Chino Hills gun maker; Maadi, an Egyptian rifle maker; Bushmaster Firearms; Imbel, a Brazilian rifle maker, and the Loaner Pawnshop Too, in Everett, Wash., and its owner, David McGee.

The suit was filed on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the shooting because the statue of limitations was set to expire at the end of this week, Horwitz said.