Victims of Highland Park mass shooting sue Smith & Wesson. Lawsuit accuses gunmaker of encouraging criminal behavior through marketing and advertising campaigns.

One lawsuit accuses Smith & Wesson of developing marketing campaigns that "target impulsive young men with military complexes."

• Victims of the Highland Park mass shooting have filed multiple lawsuits against Smith & Wesson.
• One lawsuit accuses the gun manufacturer of marketing and advertising practices that encourage criminal behavior. 
• The July 4 shooting in suburban Chicago killed seven people. 

Victims of the July 4 Highland Park mass shooting in suburban Chicago recently filed lawsuits against gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson and former parent company American Outdoor Brands.

"These plaintiffs are seeking to stop the irresponsible and unlawful sale and marketing of weapons of war like the ones used in the Highland Park attack," Erin Davis, senior counsel for trial and appellate litigation at Brady, said in a statement. 

One lawsuit accuses Smith & Wesson of developing marketing campaigns that "target impulsive young men with military complexes" and "adolescents drawn to the excitement and risk-taking associated with militaristic weapons or combat missions." The lawsuit referenced young players of first-person shooter games like "Call of Duty" as being particularly susceptible to such marketing. 

Elizabeth Turnipseed, a plaintiff who was shot while standing with her daughter and husband at the Highland Park Independence Day Parade, is seeking to hold Smith & Wesson liable for the marketing and advertising of the M&P15 assault rifle, which, according to prosecutors, the accused gunman at Highland Park's Independence Day Parade used to kill seven people and wound 48 others. 

"You don't expect to go to your child's first parade and leave with something other than happy memories, but instead, I left with shrapnel permanently lodged in my body," Turnipseed said in a statement. "This lawsuit will hopefully keep other families and other communities from suffering the same way that we and the Highland Park community have suffered."

Smith & Wesson's CEO recently blamed politicians and the movement to "defund the police" for the surge in violence — rather than the company itself — after the gunmaker was subpoenaed for information on AR-15 sales and marketing, Insider reported. 

Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said after the shooting that she knew the suspect legally obtained the gun. The accused shooter has been indicted by a grand jury on 21 first-degree murder counts, 48 counts of attempted murder, and 48 counts of aggravated battery, the Associated Press reported. 

Smith & Wesson did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.