A $246-million lawsuit has been filed against the designer, marketer and a retailer of the video game series Grand Theft Auto by the families of two people shot by teenagers allegedly inspired by the game.
The suit claims that Sony Computer Entertainment America, the designers Take 2 Interactive Software and Rockstar Games, and Wal-Mart, are liable for $46m in compensation and $200m in punitive damages.
Aaron Hamel was killed and Kimberly Bede was seriously wounded when their cars were shot at in June as they passed through the Great Smoky Mountains.
William Buckner (16) and his stepbrother Joshua Buckner (14) of Newport, were sentenced in August to an indefinite term in state custody after pleading guilty to reckless homicide, endangerment and assault.
The boys told investigators they got the rifles from a locked room in their home and decided to shoot randomly at tractor-trailer rigs, as in the video game Grand Theft Auto III.
The lawsuit alleges the retail giant sold the game to the Buckners about a year before the shootings. – Guardian Unlimited Â