Newtown victims' families split $1.5M from estate of gunman's mother

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- The families of more than a dozen victims of the 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, will split $1.5 million under recently finalized settlements of lawsuits against the gunman's mother's estate.

A lawyer for several victims' families says the settlements were finalized Dec. 17. Details of the agreements were first announced in August.

The lawsuits said Nancy Lanza failed to properly secure her legally owned Bushmaster AR-15 rifle. Her son, Adam Lanza, used the rifle to kill 20 first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012. He killed his mother before the school shooting and killed himself afterward.

The families of 16 people who were killed will split $1.5 million from Nancy Lanza's homeowner's insurance.

Victims' families also are suing the maker of the Bushmaster rifle.