One of the nation's leading gun manufacturers, Smith & Wesson, is the subject of at least 11 newly filed lawsuits by the survivors of the Highland Park, Illinois, shooting. The shooting spree, which took place on Independence Day, killed seven parade goers and injured dozens more.

The lawsuits have been brought forward by both survivors and family members of those killed. In an attempt to hold the gun manufacturer responsible for the senseless deaths, lawyers for the plaintiff are preparing to argue that gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson negligently marketed its weapons. This was nearly the same argument that helped parents of slain Sandy Hook Elementary School students claim victory against gun manufacturer Remington in February. The Sandy Hook parents reached a $73 million victory against Remington Arms in what was one of the largest settlement agreements paid by a gun manufacturer to private citizens.

In Highland Park, survivors and the family members of victims are going after Smith & Wesson; their former parent company American Outdoor Brands; the accused shooter Robert Crimo III; and the shooter's father Robert Crimo jr.

Other lawsuits are also naming the online gun distributors Bud's Gun Shop and Illinois gun retailer Red Dot Arms where the shooter was able to obtain his weapons.

The defendants are accused of negligently and or illegally marketing their weapons to young men, including the 21-year-old shooter.

According to attorneys filing the lawsuits, the complaints represent at least three victims who were killed during the parade, another 10 who were injured and over 30 who suffered emotional trauma from the incident. Several law firms including Everytown Law; Romanucci & Blandin; and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison are representing the plaintiffs.

According to the lawsuits, the gun manufacturer and its former parent company irresponsibly and unlawfully marketed its semi-automatic weapons to individuals including the shooter. One lawsuit explains that using the Smith & Wesson semi-automatic rifle allowed Crimo “to act out his violent fantasy — like so many disturbed and hate-filled young men before him.”

The lawsuit explained that Smith & Wesson engaged in deceptive marketing by advertising their rifles as having been used and/or approved by the U.S. Military. The lawsuit explains that the “shooter was the type of a young consumer susceptible to Smith & Wesson’s deceptive and unfair marketing,” adding that his behavior was “enabled by his father.”

Lawsuits that name the online gun distributors where the shooter purchased the weapon also claimed that the distributor was negligent and unlawfully dealing weapons. The lawsuit explains that Red Dot Arms knowingly violated the assault weapons ban in Highwood and Highland Park, Illinois. In doing so, Crimo was given an avenue to purchase weapons that he would have otherwise been unable to obtain.

One lawsuit explains, "Despite that Bud's Gun Shop knew that the shooter resided in Highland Park or Highwood, where it is illegal to acquire or possess an assault weapon, it sold the Rifle to the Shooter, thereby knowingly aiding and abetting the violation of the ordinances."

The suit adds similar claims against the other gun distributor named in the suit, alleging, "Despite knowing that the Shooter resided in a municipality that prohibited the possession of assault weapons, Red Dot Arms transferred the Rifle to the Shooter, thereby knowingly aiding and abetting the violation of the ordinances."

The lawsuits have called the shooting “foreseeable” and “entirely preventable.” In a news release, attorney Antonio M. Romanucci explained that the “The use of a Smith & Wesson M&P15 for this nefarious purpose was predictable and preventable and there must be accountability for the corporate decisions that incubated this tragedy, clearly dismissing public safety while bringing in record earnings.”