Fleet Farm gun lawsuit settles: $1 million and ‘significant’ policy changes
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Fleet Farm has agreed to pay $1 million and implement "significant" policy changes to prevent the illegal sale of guns to straw buyers – someone who purchases a firearm on behalf of someone else.
Fleet Farm to change how it handles, tracks gun purchases
Truck Park Bar shooting fallout
Three years after the mass shooting at a downtown St. Paul bar, families of victims and survivors are balancing the weight of grief and recovery as pending lawsuits continue to seek accountability.
Timeline:
The agreement comes more than three years after Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a civil lawsuit against the Midwest retailer, alleging the company negligently sold dozens of firearms to straw buyers.
One of those guns was later used in the fatal mass shooting at the Truck Park bar in St. Paul in October 2021.
What they're saying:
"I took Fleet Farm to court after the company put the lives of Minnesotans in danger by ignoring clear warning signs and selling guns to straw buyers," Ellison said in a statement.
Fleet Farm did not admit fault but agreed to implement improved training to identify potential straw purchasers, use new software to track firearm sales across its various store locations and impose internal disciplinary measures for employees who do not follow guidelines.
Fleet Farm sued by AG Ellison over alleged involvement in gun trafficking
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Wednesday he is suing Fleet Farm for selling guns to straw buyers.
In court filings, the company consistently argued "there is no evidence" that it knew customers were engaging in straw purchasing at the time of the sales.
However, Ellison said internal company records obtained as part of the lawsuit showed otherwise.
"The warning signs that Fleet Farm ignored were so clear that Fleet Farm themselves went on to use those sales as examples of obvious red flags in internal trainings," he said.
Fleet Farm guns recovered at crime scenes across the Twin Cities
New lawsuit filed against Truck Park bar, Fleet Farm over mass shooting
A new lawsuit filed this week accuses Truck Park bar in St. Paul of not doing enough to prevent a mass shooting three years ago. The lawsuit also seeks accountability from Fleet Farm for selling one of the guns used in the deadly shootout. FOX 9 investigative reporter Nathan O'Neal has the full story.
Ellison filed the lawsuit after a mass shooting at the Truck Park bar in St. Paul on Oct. 10, 2021.
Marquisha "Kiki" Wiley, 27, was killed and more than a dozen others were injured.
"Just in the blink of an eye – all of their lives just changed over something completely unnecessary," Kiki’s mother, Beth Wiley, previously told the FOX 9 Investigators.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) traced the gun back to Jerome Horton Jr. who was convicted of illegally purchasing dozens of firearms, including for people who were not legally allowed to have them.
Why you should care:
Following an overnight shooting in September 2021, police say another handgun illegally purchased from Fleet Farm was discarded in the front yard of a Minneapolis home.
A 6-year-old boy later found the loaded 9mm Glock.
Body camera video obtained by the FOX 9 Investigators showed the firearm had a round loaded in the chamber when it was discovered.
"It could have been so much worse," Michael Norseng, the boy’s father, told the FOX 9 Investigators in 2024. "We’re very thankful that our child had the wherewithal to tell us about it but the outcome could have been tragic."
Unrecovered straw purchase guns pose ‘public safety threat’
Judge denies Fleet Farm motion to dismiss, gun lawsuit moves forward
A federal judge is allowing the civil lawsuit against Fleet Farm to move forward after denying the company's motion to dismiss. The lawsuit centers on the mass shooting at the Seventh Street Truck Park bar in St. Paul back in 2021 that was made possible by a straw purchase. FOX 9 investigative journalist Nathan O'Neal has the latest report.
Dig deeper:
Fleet Farm tried to have the lawsuit dismissed, but a federal judge allowed most of the claims to move forward last fall after noting that dozens of firearms connected to the case had not been recovered.
"Those unrecovered firearms pose an ongoing public safety threat to Minnesotans as a whole," U.S. District Court Judge John Tunheim said.
Fleet Farm was linked to additional straw purchases last summer.
The FOX 9 Investigators found the company had also been repeatedly flagged by the ATF for selling guns that were later used in crimes.
What's next:
Fleet Farm must pay the $1 million within 90 days of the settlement being finalized.
Within one year, Fleet Farm must provide the Attorney General with a sworn declaration detailing how the company has updated its policies, training and software, as required under the settlement.
The retailer still faces a separate civil lawsuit filed by the Wiley Family and survivors of the Truck Park bar shooting.
The Source: Information in this report came from court records in a lawsuit against Fleet Farm and additional evidence obtained by the FOX 9 Investigators.