Payton Gendron appeared before a New York State judge at the Erie County Courthouse on May 19, 2022 in Buffalo. He allegedly removed a lock on the murder weapon from the product on the right. (Photos: Scott Olson/Getty Images; NYAG)
A gun accessory manufacturer’s product helped Buffalo mass murderer Payton Gendron skirt New York’s assault weapons ban by enabling his purchase of an AR-15 with an easily removed lock, the state’s Attorney General Letitia James alleges in a lawsuit.
“The racist mass shooting at the Tops grocery store in Buffalo was one of the darkest days in the history of our state and our nation,” James said in a statement. “We lost 10 innocent lives because a hate-fueled individual was able to make an AR-15 even deadlier through a simple change at home.”
That “simple change” was printed on the package of an MA Lock device manufactured by the Georgia-based company Mean Arms, according to the AG.
“Mean Arms sells the MA Lock device knowing that it can be easily removed to make guns more dangerous, and even gives directions on how to take this action,” James said. “We cannot undo the devastating harm that was done, but this lawsuit against Mean Arms is part of our ongoing effort to pursue justice for the ten innocent lives that were unjustly taken.”
On May 14, 2022, Gendron was 18 years old when he brought a Bushmaster XM rifle into Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo and opened fire, livestreaming the massacre on his GoPro camera. He disseminated a racist screed before the attack, seeking to inspire others to kill for his hateful ideology. He later pleaded guilty to all charges in a case featuring the first charges of New York’s Domestic Terrorism Law.
“The Buffalo shooter intended to use a weapon that could hold many rounds of ammunition and could also be reloaded quickly with detachable magazines,” the lawsuit notes. “He chillingly observed there are very few weapons that are easier to use and more effective at killing than the Bushmaster XM-15 he planned to use.”
The AG alleges that the weapon Gendron bought came installed with a $19.99 fastener, the MA Lock, that purports to “convert an illegal assault weapon in New York into a compliant weapon by locking a 10-round detachable magazine in place and preventing the rifle from accepting a detachable magazine.”
“However, the MA Lock did not effectively impede the ability of the Bushmaster XM-15 used by the Buffalo shooter to accept a detachable magazine,” the lawsuit states. “Using basic tools in his family’s home and following easily available instructions, within a matter of minutes, the Buffalo shooter simply removed the MA Lock from the rifle.”
In a four-count civil complaint, James accuses Mean Arms of “aiding and abetting” the “illegal possession of assault weapons in New York.” The AG seeks an order preventing the company from “selling, shipping, distributing, or otherwise supplying the MA Lock to any person or entity in New York” and forcing them to correct “false and misleading public statements and omissions.” She also seeks restitution, disgorgement and civil penalties of up to $5,000 for each alleged violation of New York business law.
James also has a pending lawsuit against the National Rifle Association, over alleged violations of New York charity law. That case survived the NRA’s attempt at dismissal, but the gun group dodged the AG’s request that it receive the “corporate death penalty,” which would have shut it down.
Mean Arms did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
Read the lawsuit here.
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