Gian Luigi Ferri

Background

Gian Luigi Ferri was identified as a 55-year-old businessman and real estate speculator from Los Angeles who became involved with ADF Mortgage. Pettit & Martin advised Ferri in real estate transactions in 1981, mainly to buy several trailer parks in Indiana and Kentucky. The firm later helped him find local counsel in Indiana that helped him win a $1 million judgment. Ferri complained that a seller had made misrepresentations, and the firm had no records of any complaints about its own work from Ferri. Pettit & Martin had no contact with him since 1982. Ferri complained that the seller had made misrepresentations, and he sought local counsel in Indiana that helped him win a $1 million judgment there.

Ferri later approached an office in Hollywood seeking to file for personal bankruptcy. He told the lawyers in Hollywood that he had lost $300,000 in a land deal in Leadville, Colo., near Aspen.

A rambling letter left behind by Ferri was published in part and described his grievances. The letter ranted about a flavor enhancer in food, monosodium glutamate, the Food and Drug Administration, and the legal profession, and it included a list of complaints. Ferri said in his letter that he had been “raped” by Pettit & Martin, and he asserted that his complaints had been thwarted by “a corrupt legal system of 'esquires'.”

When Ferri entered Pettit & Martin, he was reported to have nursed an irrational grudge against Pettit & Martin for many years.

The offence

On 1 July 1993, Ferri entered the offices of Pettit & Martin on the 34th floor of 101 California Street in San Francisco. He entered the building at 2:57 PM and began shooting after exiting the elevator on the 34th floor. He donned ear protectors and opened fire with two TEC-9 handguns and a .45 semi-automatic pistol.

He continued shooting after roaming the 34th floor and then moved down one floor through an internal staircase and continued firing. The killings continued on several floors before Ferri eventually shot himself fatally as San Francisco Police closed in.

Eight people were killed in the attack, and six others were injured.

Investigation

A typed, four-page letter was found on Ferri’s body after he killed eight people, wounded six others, and finally killed himself. The letter was semiliterate and contained misspellings and grammatical errors. Excerpts were published in The San Francisco Chronicle.

The letter included the following passage:

“The last thing that made all of this come to a head is that I am one of those people of the 5% of the population (12.5 million people), where the poison monosodium glutamate (MGS) has reached such high levels in our cells, that a minimum amount more can kill us.”

The letter ended with a blast at lawyers:

“When you hire a consultant or an attorney you don't hire for the purpose of getting raped and than having all your efforts toward legal recourse totally thwarted by a corrupt legal system of 'esquires'. Esquires in the dark ages romed the countryside to steel from the working people and give tothe prince. Do attorney want us to call them esquires because their allegiance is to the monarchy?”

Ferri carried a list of more than 30 names described as apparently targets of his wrath, but no one on his list was among the victims. Investigators reported that the dead and wounded did not appear to have any connection with Ferri or to be on his list of criminals, rapists, racketeeres, or lobbyists.

Arrest

No arrest occurred because Ferri killed himself during the attack.

Trial

No trial proceedings were described in the provided material.

Sentencing

No sentencing was described in the provided material.

Appeals

No appeals were described in the provided material.

Outcome

Ferri committed suicide by shooting himself on 1 July 1993, the same day as the mass shooting. The attack resulted in eight deaths and six injuries.

Aftermath

Legal actions followed the shootings. Lawyers for the families sued both the gun makers and the store where the guns were purchased, charging that the sellers acted irresponsibly because they should have known the weapon was inappropriate for legal use. A series of lawsuits were named against gun makers and sellers, including Navegar Inc., Hell-Fire Trigger Systems, USA Magazines, and Superpawn.

A state court judge ruled that the maker of the guns used in the shooting could be sued for the deaths. The ruling was issued by Judge James Warren of San Francisco Superior Court on Monday, and it did not address whether the manufacturers of the magazines and ammunition could be included in the suits. The decision refused to dismiss the series of lawsuits against the makers of the guns Ferri used when he entered Pettit & Martin and sprayed the offices with bullets. Judge Warren ruled that gun manufacturer Navegar Inc. might be liable under theories of strict liability and negligence.

Ernest Getto, a lawyer for Navegar, contended that the semiautomatic guns Ferri used were legally made in Florida and sold in Nevada, and that neither state had a ban on assault weapons at the time. Getto said:

"The bottom line is that nothing Navegar did has any connection whatsoever to what happened,"
"We did nothing unlawful in California."

Judge Warren based the ruling on the fact that the TEC-DC-9 gun used by Ferri was a slightly modified version of one banned by the California Legislature in 1989. The judge reasoned that the company introduced the gun into the general market even though it could have foreseen that the weapon would eventually turn up in California and possibly be used for criminal purposes. The Center to Prevent Handgun Violence filed eight lawsuits in May on behalf of the survivors and the families of the victims. The suits maintained that the manufacturers negligently made and sold products that “would be used to kill or injure innocent people in a violent criminal act.”

The suits maintained that the makers were liable because the products had no legitimate sporting or self-defense purpose and were easily adapted to mass killings. The suits named Navegar, maker of the TEC-DC-9; Hell-Fire Trigger Systems, maker of the trigger accelerator used; USA Magazines, maker of the 32-round magazine standard in the TEC-DC-9; and Superpawn, the Nevada pawnshop where Ferr