(St. Paul, MN) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison says a federal judge has ruled his lawsuit will proceed against Fleet Farm.
It alleges the retailer negligently sold guns to straw purchasers — including one used in a 2021 mass shooting at a Saint Paul bar that killed one person and injured 14 others.
Ellison says the court rejecting Fleet Farm’s motion to dismiss the state’s lawsuit “is an important step toward ensuring gun dealers are held accountable… if they ignore obvious red flags and sell to straw purchasers.”
Ellison alleges Fleet Farm sold at least 37 firearms to two straw purchasers over 16 months, often selling multiple guns in single transactions or over very short periods of time.