CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 10 (UPI) -- A North Carolina family filed a lawsuit against gun manufacturer Remington over the alleged fatal misfiring of one of its rifles.
The lawsuit contends a design flaw caused the Remington .308 Model 700 rifle to go off while the owner was cleaning the weapon, killing a teenager who was walking by the man's home at the time.
Jasmine Thar, 16, Charlotte, was killed in 2011 by the errant round and two other people were wounded. The owner of the rifle told authorities at the time he was cleaning the weapon and had not touched the trigger, the Charlotte Observer reported Tuesday.
The lawsuit filed Monday alleged the blame for incident rested on Remington, which was accused of selling the Model 700 despite knowing it was prone to accidental firing.
"This is a bad rifle," attorney Willie Gary said. "It needs to be off the market. Remington is making millions and billions of dollars on a rifle that clearly malfunctions and misfires."
Remington declined comment to the Observer. The newspaper said the company has contended on its website the Model 700 is safe and any misfirings have been due to improper maintenance or unauthorized alterations made to its mechanisms.
