The CBS news program, 60 Minutes put the spotlight on Ilion Sunday evening with a Leslie Stahl segment that blames a faulty trigger on the Remington 700 rifle with multiple deaths and injuries.

A Federal Judge in Missouri heard arguments last week involving thousands of gun owners who have complained that the popular Remington rifle fired without anyone pulling the trigger. Remington Arms was established in 1816 in Ilion, NY. and still manufactures guns there employing some 1200 employees.

According to, 60 Minutes:

The company has downplayed the danger for decades and the complaints represent only a fraction of the rifles out there. But 10 attorneys general wrote the court saying, “There are potentially as many as 7.5 million defective rifles at issue.” And that, “Remington knows or should know…they are unreasonably dangerous.” One avid hunter and gun-lover is on a mission to raise awareness about what he calls the rifle’s defect. And he has good reason.

The segment featured Roger Stringer, a Mississippi father whose sons Zac and Justin got into a fight while home alone. That’s when Zac, then 15, loaded his Remington 700 rifle with the intention of scaring his brother.  Instead, as the argument was ending, the rifle

National Rifle Association Holds Annual Meeting In St. Louis
Getty Images
loading...

fired and struck the younger Justin, killing him instantly.  Zac, who always contended that he never pulled the trigger on the gun, was later convicted of killing his brother.  During the trial, Roger Stringer actually testified against his son who was eventually sentenced to 10 years in prison. Sometime later, Stringer decided to Google the words "spontaneous firing" which is when he discovered thousands of gun owners reporting the misfiring of Remington 700 rifles, which corroborated his son’s story.

Zach Stringer was recently released from prison on good behavior. His family is asking that the court reverse the guilty judgement against him.

Remington recalled 1.3 million rifles in 2014 but never admitted to liability for any deaths or injuries. Attorneys have estimated that if Remington were to replace every trigger susceptible to possible spontaneous firing, it would cost the company nearly $500 million.

Read the complete 60 Minutes segment here.

More From 96.1 The Eagle