Gun Maker Lawsuit Over Fatal Shooting Results in $600K Settlement

Kahr Arms has agreed to pay about $600,000 to settle a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of a man who was shot to death by a drug-addicted worker who took a gun from the company’s factory. 

The gun maker was sued by the Brady Center on behalf of the family of Danny Guzman, who was killed on Christmas Eve in 1999 by Mark Cronin, a drug addict and Kahr employee. The center also brought charges on behalf of Armando Maisonet, who was wounded by Cronin during the same shooting.

According to allegations raised in the complaint, Cronin was hired by Kahr Arms despite a criminal record of violence, theft and drug abuse.

Guzman and Maisonet were shot at a Worcester, Massachusetts nightclub. The murder weapon, a 9 mm pistol, was found six days later, loaded, by a four-year-old child behind an apartment building, according to a press release issued by the Brady Center.

The lawsuit claimed that not only did Kahr not perform a background check before hiring employees to work in a gun factory, but accused the company of having non-existent security on its products. Cronin told police that he could take guns from the Worcester, Massachusetts factory whenever he liked before they had serial numbers stamped on them. Police confirmed that removing guns from the facility would be easy due to Kahr Arms poor record-keeping.

According to the Brady Center, the settlement is the largest ever paid by a gun manufacturer accused of negligence linked to the use of its products. The settlement came after Kahr Arms failed to have the case dismissed.