NEW YORK – The manufacturer of a gun accessory directly linked to the horrific Buffalo Tops mass shooting will pay $1.75 million and permanently halt sales in New York State. Attorney General Letitia James, alongside legal teams from Everytown for Gun Safety, GIFFORDS, and multiple law firms, secured a global settlement with MEAN LLC (Mean Arms) for its role in enabling the shooter to illegally possess an assault weapon.
The May 14, 2022, shooting at the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo claimed the lives of ten innocent people and left the community reeling. Investigators found the shooter used an AR-15-style rifle initially equipped with a Mean Arms MA Lock – a device marketed as a way to comply with restrictive state laws. However, the AG’s office proved that Mean Arms actively *aided* circumvention of those laws by explicitly advertising and providing instructions on how to easily remove the lock, allowing the shooter to attach high-capacity, 30-round magazines.
“The racist mass shooting at Tops in Buffalo was an unbearable tragedy,” stated Attorney General James. “We lost 10 beautiful lives in a horrific act of violence and hate, and no amount of money can ever return those individuals to their families or erase the devastation the community was forced to endure. Today, justice looks like accountability, and we have ensured that this device will never be sold in our state again.” The lawsuit, initially filed in May 2023, alleged that Mean Arms deceptively marketed the MA Lock as a legal compliance tool while knowingly facilitating its easy removal.
The MA Lock, a shear bolt mechanism, is designed to lock a detachable magazine in place. But the OAG’s complaint detailed that Mean Arms not only provided step-by-step removal instructions on product packaging, but also disseminated videos demonstrating how easily the lock could be bypassed. This allowed the shooter, who legally purchased the rifle with a 10-round magazine and MA Lock in January 2022, to quickly convert it into a far more lethal weapon capable of sustained, rapid fire. The ability to avoid reloading proved critical in the scale of the massacre.
Under the terms of the settlement, Mean Arms will not only cease sales of the MA Lock in New York, but will also be required to remove any misleading claims about its legality from all marketing materials. The company must also notify all current retailers that the product is prohibited for sale within the state. The $1.75 million in restitution will be distributed to victims’ families, those injured in the shooting, and surviving witnesses traumatized by the event. This settlement sends a clear message: manufacturers who knowingly facilitate the illegal modification of firearms will be held accountable.
The Georgia-based Mean Arms now faces a permanent ban on selling the detachable magazine lock within New York State. The Attorney General’s office vows to continue pursuing legal action against those who profit from enabling gun violence, emphasizing that accountability is paramount in the wake of such devastating tragedies. This case highlights the growing legal scrutiny of accessory manufacturers and their potential liability in mass shootings.
RELATED: Mean Arms Enabled Buffalo Shooter: $1.75M Settlement
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: NY AG
- Category: Weapons|Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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