Miami Maker of Gun Used at Columbine Shuts Down
MIAMI (Reuters) - The Florida gun manufacturer that made the semiautomatic handgun [b]used[/b] in the 1999 Columbine High School massacre has gone out of business, a newspaper reported on Friday.

State records indicate that [b]Navegar Inc., of Miami-Dade County, maker of the TEC-9, and a sister corporation, were voluntarily dissolved on April 16,[/b] the Miami Herald reported.

Last week, the company won a major legal victory when the California Supreme Court ruled it was not liable for a 1993 attack in which a disgruntled businessman used a Navegar TEC-DC9 military-style assault pistol to kill nine people, including himself, in a San Francisco office building.

The court ruled that shooting victims may not sue firearms manufacturers if their weapons are used in a crime.

Navegar's lawyer, Ernest Getto, told the Miami Herald he tried without success to notify the company that they had won the suit but its phones had been disconnected.

``I don't know what happened to them,'' he told the newspaper.

Navegar owner Carlos Garcia declined comment, the Herald said.

The plaintiffs' lawyers have alleged that the [b]Navegar TEC-DC9 is designed and sold to facilitate mass killings.[/b] A teen-age gunman used a Navegar TEC-DC9 in the April 20, 1999, massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. He and a second teen-ager killed 13 people before taking their own lives.

[b]Experts suggested Navegar may have gone out of business due to the expense of fighting lawsuits, the Herald reported.[/b]

An industry source told the Herald that the TEC-9 may live on despite the demise of the company. He said he had heard that the sale of the design was under discussion.
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"...is designed and sold to facilitate mass killings"   I say it functions as designed - no need for consumer safety admin.

I'm not a fan of the TEC-9 but it is still sad to see a legitimate manufacturer have to close due to the financial stresses of lawsuits.

I have to agree it is very disappointing.  Unfortunately they won't be the last.  I do happen to have a tec-9 (unfortunately the politically correct model-except for the magazine)and it is fun to shoot every once in a while.  While I can't say it is the crown of my collection it seems rather reliable to me as long you are not shooting for accuracy.  The biggest upside they had was the price.  It was a usable gun that most anybody could afford because of the pricetag.  Very unfortunate for the people that do not have a lot to spend on their shooting ventures.  As for the comment about the gun facilitating mass killings....I could think of several other rifles or handguns I would rather use that would cause much better (or worse however you would like to call it) results.  Probably just another plan by anti's- start with thte little companies and work up.

They made a "military style assualt pistol"?   OH MY GOD!!!!!.........could they possibly have dissolved due to LACK OF SALES????...[smoke]

They've actually been out of business since January 2001.  I know because I sent a gun in for repairs.  They called me and said they were sending it back because they were in the process of filing bankruptcy.