Woman sues Scheels over teen son’s gun death in Eden Prairie store
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A Minnesota woman is suing the Scheels sporting goods retail chain, accusing it of negligence after her 19-year-old son died by suicide in Scheels’ Eden Prairie store.
The organization Everytown Law and two law firms filed the lawsuit against Scheels and a store employee on Monday, on behalf of Sarah Van Bogart. The suit is filed in Hennepin County District Court.
In August 2022, Van Bogart’s son, Jordan Markie, visited the Scheels store at Eden Prairie Center mall and asked an employee to see a handgun. The employee allegedly handed it to him without checking his age.
The lawsuit states that Markie handled the gun for about a half-minute, then ran to another part of the store where he loaded it and took his life.
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“Defendants entrusted a handgun to Jordan despite the fact that he was 19 at the time and appeared well under the age of 21 and was acting nervously in the minutes before Defendants handed him the weapon. Contrary to industry custom and practice, Defendants neither requested nor received proof of age before placing the firearm in his hands,” the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit also claims that the handgun was given to Markie “without a trigger lock or other disabling device and with a magazine in place and ready to receive ammunition.”
“Scheels provided an operable handgun to an underage person without taking the simplest precautions,” the lawsuit states, claiming that Scheels and its employee “violated industry custom and practice.”
“Jordan was kind, artistic and full of empathy and compassion for others. Our family misses him every single day,” Van Bogart said in a news release announcing the lawsuit.
“Far too many mothers share my pain. Too many families share an empty chair at the kitchen table because of suicide by firearm. Jordan should have never been handed that gun, let alone an unlocked weapon just steps away from accessible ammunition. My son should be alive today.”
A message was left with Scheels, seeking comment on the lawsuit.
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