Remington Arms, weighed down by lawsuits and retail sales restrictions following the Sandy Hook school shooting, is seeking bankruptcy protection for the second time in as many years.
In a Chapter 11 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy court for Northern District of Alabama this week, the nation’s oldest gunmaker listed assets and liabilities of between $100 million and $500 million, and between 1,000 and 5,000 creditors.
In the most recent legal action this year against the Madison, North Carolina, company, families of those killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting were granted access to the computer of the shooter.
The families are looking for evidence of the shooter’s exposure to advertisements for weapons. They say Remington violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act by marketing its Bushmaster XM15-E2S, an AR-15 style weapon, to civilians.
The weapon was used to kill 20 children and six adult staff at the school.
Remington sought bankruptcy protection in 2018. It exited court protection the same year, owned by creditors.
The news of the bankruptcy filing comes at a time that more and more people are buying guns.
According to the FBI, 3.9 million background checks were conducted in June of 2020, which is the most since the background check system was created in 1998.
Background checks are the FBI’s best indicator of gun sales around the country.
Remington began making firearms in New York and Alabama in 1816. According to Fox Business, Remington’s firearms and ammunitions business may be sold separately. The company was previously negotiating with the Navajo Nation to sell itself out of bankruptcy.
The Associated Press Contributed to this report.