By The Associated Press

U.S. gun maker Remington Outdoor Company has filed for bankruptcy protection, after years of falling sales and lawsuits tied to the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

Records from the bankruptcy court of the district of Delaware show that the company filed late Sunday.

Remington had in February reached a deal with lenders to reduce its debt by about $700 million and add about $145 million in new capital. But that only bought time for it to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Remington makes the Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle that was used in the Sandy Hook shooting in Connecticut that left 20 first-graders and six educators dead in 2012. The company was cleared of wrongdoing in the shooting, but investors distanced themselves from the company's owner, investor Cerberus Capital Management.

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