A rifle manufacturer’s decision to pay $550,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by victims and victims’ families in the Washington, D.C.-area sniper shootings is a first, according to a gun control lawyer. Bushmaster Firearms Inc. of Windham, Maine, made the .223-caliber Bushmaster rifle, a civilian version of the military M-16, used in the October 2002 shootings. However, a Bushmaster lawyer said the settlement was an economic decision and involved no admission of liability. Bull’s Eye Shooter Supply of Tacoma, where the rifle came from, agreed to pay $2 million to the eight plaintiffs. The settlement with Bushmaster marks the first time a gun manufacturer has agreed to pay damages to settle claims of negligent distribution of weapons, said Jon Lowy, a lawyer with the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence who helped argue the case. He said the settlement with Bull’s Eye Shooter Supply is the largest against a gun dealer. But Bushmaster lawyer Kelly Corr said the manufacturer and its insurance company, which will pay the $550,000, decided to settle rather than continuing to run up legal bills in court. Corr said the settlement will not change the way Bushmaster conducts business.
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