Families of teens killed in Ohio school shooting to get $2.7 million

CHARDON, Ohio, May 21 (UPI) -- The families of three students at an Ohio high school gunned down by another teen will get almost $900,000 each in a settlement, a judge announced Wednesday.

Judge Timothy Grendell, who sits in the juvenile and probate courts in Geauga County, said he decided to make the $2.7 million settlement public to show Ohio residents that allowing young people unsupervised access to guns is risky. The families will get $890,000 each, although about 40 percent will go to legal fees.

The settlement is to be paid by Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. The father of the shooter, Thomas J. Lane III, had a personal catastrophe liability policy with the company.

"Even though you can never put a value on the loss of a child, I think the awards were fair under the circumstances," the judge said.

Lane, a 17-year-old student known as "T.J.," opened fire in the cafeteria at Chardon High School on Feb. 27, 2012, killing three students and injuring three, including one who was permanently paralyzed. He used a Ruger .22 semi-automatic handgun belonging to a relative.

The families of the dead -- Daniel Parmertor, Demetrius Hewlin and Russell King Jr. -- have also sued the Chardon school district and Lake Academy, the alternative high school Lane attended. Lane was sentenced last year to three life terms with no parole.