Uvalde shooting survivors’ families sue UPS, FedEx for shipping weapon used by gunman in school massacre

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

---

Families of survivors of the Robb Elementary School shooting are suing the package shipping companies UPS and FedEx for allegedly violating state and federal law and their own corporate safety standards.

The lawsuit was filed on the two-year mark of the shooting, which saw a gunman enter the school and murder 19 children and two teachers. The families said the shipping companies bear responsibility for the trauma and distress caused to the survivors of the massacre.

On the day of the shooting, the gunman was armed with a weapon ordered online and shipped to Oasis Firearms in Uvalde where it was then picked up by the shooter.

The lawsuit claims the companies then shipped an enhanced trigger system to the gunman’s house. This allowed the gunman to convert it into a fully automatic or semi-automatic weapon.

The lawsuit cited the UPS conditions of carriage as proof of a violation. The UPS conditions state that, “Shipments must not contain goods which might endanger human or animal life or any means of transportation."

The families also said that the shipment of the Hell Fire trigger to the gunman’s house was a violation of school zone area protections. The gunman’s house was less than 1,000 feet away from the Robb Elementary School zone.

According to the lawsuit, the gunman was not 18 when he bought the weapon and Hell Fire trigger online. It claimed that FedEx shipped the AR-15 and then Oasis Firearms illegally transferred the gun to the shooter even though he was 17 at the time of the purchase. The shooter was also able to purchase ammunition from Oasis that was used in the massacre.

This lawsuit was filed on the same day families of victims and survivors filed wrongful death lawsuits against Instagram parent company Meta, the maker of the Call of Duty video game “Activision,” and Daniel Defense, the company that manufactured the AR-15 style assault rifle the gunman used.

In a statement, UPS said, "Our hearts go out to the Uvalde victims and their families. Shipping firearms and components is highly regulated; UPS complies, and requires its customers to comply, with all applicable federal laws. The lawsuit has no merit and we will defend accordingly."

---

We’ve added new speakers to the stellar lineup of leaders, lawmakers and newsmakers hitting the stage at The Texas Tribune Festival, happening Sept. 5–7 in downtown Austin. Get an up-close look at today’s biggest issues at Texas’ breakout politics and policy event!