Highland Park shooting victims sue gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson | USA TODAY

Highland Park parade shooting victims filed several lawsuits against multiple parties they linked to the massacre, including a gun manufacturer.

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Marketing practices from gun maker Smith & Wesson were designed to generate sales from people like the gunman who opened fire on the Highland Park July 4 parade, according to one of several new lawsuits filed Wednesday by massacre victims and families grieving loved ones who were fatally shot in the tragedy.

The lawsuits largely focus on Smith & Wesson but also include the accused gunman, his father and the gun store that sold the weapon identified by authorities in the shooting.

A central claim of the legal action is that the gun manufacturer behind the M&P 15 semiautomatic rifle illegally targeted young men at risk of violence with advertisements for firearms.

The Fourth of July shooting at a parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park left seven people dead and wounded nearly 40 more. Everytown Law, law firm Romanucci & Blandin, LLC and Brady, alongside additional firms, announced the suits at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.

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