Attorney general stops sale of gun accessory that aided Buffalo shooter

Says Mean Arms’ easily removable magazine lock allowed Buffalo shooter to convert rifle into an illegal assault weapon

√ Mean Arms to pay $1.75 million to impacted and injured individuals; AG James permanently bans Mean Arms from selling detachable magazine lock in New York

Submitted by the Office of New York Attorney General Letitia James

New York Attorney General Letitia James, together with Everytown for Gun Safety, GIFFORDS, John V. Elmore P.C., Connors LLP, and Collins & Collins Attorneys LLC, today announced a global settlement with gun accessory manufacturer MEAN LLC (Mean Arms), for aiding the Buffalo Tops shooter in possessing an assault weapon in New York.

New York law bans the possession of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Mean Arms manufactures, sells and distributes a magazine lock, known as the MA Lock, that it markets as a device to lock a magazine onto a rifle. However, the lock can easily be removed so that detachable magazines, including high-capacity magazines, can be inserted.

The Buffalo shooter purchased an AR-15-style rifle with an MA Lock, easily removed the lock, and added 30-round detachable magazines, turning his rifle into an assault weapon that is illegal in New York.

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) sued Mean Arms in May 2023 for aiding the Tops shooter, after finding the company advertised that the MA Lock is easily detachable and provided step-by-step instructions on how to remove it. The global settlement resolves OAG’s lawsuit and resolves all claims brought against Mean Arms by the victims and families of victims of the mass shooting.

As a result of OAG’s action, Mean Arms will permanently stop selling the MA Lock in New York, remove any statements that claim the MA Lock is legal in New York, state on all packaging that the MA Lock cannot be sold or resold in New York, and notify all businesses currently selling the MA Lock that the product is not to be sold or resold to individuals and/or businesses in New York. Mean Arms will also pay $1.75 million in restitution to victims’ families, injured individuals, and traumatized survivors.

“The racist mass shooting at Tops in Buffalo was an unbearable tragedy,” James said. “We lost 10 beautiful lives in a horrific act of violence and hate, and no amount of money can ever return those individuals to their families or erase the devastation the community was forced to endure. Today, justice looks like accountability, and we have ensured that this device will never be sold in our state again.”

In May 2023, James sued Mean Arms for aiding the Buffalo shooter in illegally possessing an assault weapon. Mean Arms is a Georgia-based gun accessory company that makes, sells and distributes the MA Lock, which is a shear bolt mechanism designed to lock a detachable magazine in place on a rifle. The OAG’s complaint alleged that the company deceptively and falsely advertised that the product makes weapons compliant with New York law. The OAG found that the company provides step-by-step instructions on the back of its product packaging on how to easily remove the lock, and online videos also show how gun owners can easily remove the lock. Removing the lock allows shooters to use detachable magazines, including high-capacity magazines. High-capacity magazines enable a shooter to keep firing rounds without stopping or pausing to reload, increasing the deadliness of an attack.

In January 2022, the Buffalo shooter purchased a semiautomatic rifle in New York with an MA Lock installed and a 10-round magazine. After following Mean Arms’ removal instructions, on May 14, 2022, the shooter inserted multiple 30-round detachable magazines onto his weapon. With a pistol grip and the high-capacity magazines, he did not have to stop to reload his weapon, and when he did reload, he could do so quickly. As a result, he was able to kill 10 people and injure three others.

“This has not been an easy fight and no amount of money will ever make up for the loss of our loved ones, but through this courageous action and in this instance, justice has prevailed and this settlement will provide additional fuel for the fight ahead,” said Garnell Whitfield, a former fire chief for the City of Buffalo and the son of the late Ruth Whitfield. “We thank Attorney General James, our legal teams, this community and the world for their love and support. Together, we will continue the fight for justice for all.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul said, “We will never forget and stop fighting for our 10 neighbors who were senselessly taken away from us in a tragic, racist act of terror. As we continue to help the families and community heal, I'm grateful to the attorney general for her partnership in seeking justice for those impacted and working to keep New Yorkers safe by ensuring our nation-leading gun laws are being followed.”

“Nothing will ever undo the pain our community carries from May,” Congressman Tim Kennedy said. “But this settlement sends a clear message to companies that knowingly help put illegal, military-style weapons into our neighborhoods. They will be held responsible for the harm that follows. I’m grateful to Attorney General James for standing with the families, honoring the lives we lost at Tops, and making clear that New York will not tolerate products designed to evade our gun safety laws and endanger our communities.” 

“Devices such as the MA Lock are insidious ways to circumvent laws meant to protect the public from gun violence, and as such, I thank Attorney General James for her vigilance and determination to remove them from our communities,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said. “Mean Arms knowingly marketed these devices as being easily detachable, even advertising how to do it so gun owners can quickly convert their guns into mass-killing machines. As public officials, we are charged with protecting the health and safety of the public first and foremost, and that means protecting the public from arms merchants who would sidestep our laws while profiting from the murder of our citizens. I stand with the attorney general and thank her for her work to remove MA Locks from New York state.” 

“This settlement is an important step toward accountability for a company whose product helped turn a weapon into an instrument of mass murder,” Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan said. “Nothing can undo the pain and loss the families of the victims and the people of Buffalo have been carrying since May 14, 2022, but today’s action sends a clear message: Profiting from products that undermine and evade New York’s gun laws will not be tolerated. I applaud the efforts of Attorney General James in her pursuit of justice and making New York a safer place.” 

“Turning a semiautomatic rifle into a weapon of mass murder destroyed lives and a community in Buffalo on May 14, 2022,” Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes said. “The ease with which the killer was able to convert his weapon for maximum destruction continues to weigh heavily on my soul. Attorney General James is helping to make our communities safer by banning this accessory. This type of weapon accessory is not needed in our state.” 

“The violent, racially motivated slaughtering at Tops targeted a historically Black, working-class community that was simply trying to live, and it inflicted an unspeakable loss,” New York State Sen. April N.M. Baskin said. “Ten of our neighbors were murdered because a company chose profit over responsibility and helped put an illegal assault weapon in the hands of a killer motivated by white supremacist ideology. This settlement is an important step toward accountability, but it must also recommit us to protecting marginalized communities that are too often treated as acceptable victims in our nation’s gun violence crisis.” 

“The survivors of May 14 know the danger posed by high-capacity ammunition magazines far too well,” said Buffalo Common Council Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope. “Because Mean Arms sold an easily detachable magazine lock and provided instructions on how to remove it, the perpetrator easily modified his weapons so that he could fire dozens of shots and kill and injure 13 innocent people in mere minutes. This is an unacceptable public safety risk – one that brought horrific consequences for members of our community. I commend Attorney General James for pursuing this settlement to provide justice and restitution for the victims, and to ensure these dangerous firearms components are not available in New York state.” 

“No amount of money can compensate the victims of May 14 for the unspeakable horrors of that day, but this settlement is a victory in our continuing fight against hate and all who enable it,” said Andrew Debbins, attorney representing victims’ families. 

“Through our efforts, we’ve secured financial accountability for our clients, and made irresponsible actors reckon with the ways they endangered our community,” said Kristen Elmore-Garcia, attorney representing victims’ families and injured individuals.