State of Minnesota, Fleet Farm reach settlement in lawsuit over gun sales
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The state of Minnesota has reached a settlement with Fleet Farm in a lawsuit alleging the retailer was negligent for selling guns that turned up at crime scenes, including the 2021 Truck Park mass shooting in St. Paul.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced the settlement Tuesday. He said Fleet Farm has agreed to pay $1 million and make policy changes to detect and prevent straw purchases. That’s when someone buys guns on behalf of someone who isn’t allowed to.
Those policy changes include more training for staff — including regular, unannounced compliance checks — to ensure that employees recognize and act on warning signs of possible straw purchases.
The changes also include software that allows employees to track firearms sales across multiple Fleet Farm stores.
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Under the terms of the settlement, Fleet Farm does not admit any violation of law.
“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 news release about the settlement.
Ellison added: “This outcome should serve as a clear warning to any other gun dealers or retailers who would put their profit ahead of Minnesotans’ safety.”
Ellison sued Fleet Farm in 2022 — alleging store employees negligently sold guns to people who they should have known were buying them for someone else.
The lawsuit alleged that four Fleet Farm stores in Minnesota sold a total of 37 firearms to two people within a 16-month period — and that those guns were later involved in crimes around the Twin Cities, including the Truck Park shooting.
