The parents of Jessica Ghawi, who was killed in the 2012 Aurora theater shootings, filed a lawsuit in Arapahoe County District Court on Tuesday against four Internet ammunition and military-grade supply companies who they allege recklessly supplied the man accused in the attack.

“We’re putting them on notice,” said Lonnie Phillips, Ghawi’s father, at a news conference in Denver. “We’re coming after you.”

The lawsuit was filed by the nationally recognized law firm Arnold & Porter LLP’s Denver office in conjunction with the Washington D.C.-based Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The companies named in the litigation are scattered in Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Arizona.

The suit, which is being undertaken pro-bono, seeks a civil action for injunctive relief for “negligently and unlawfully” supplying ammunition, tear gas and body armor to James Holmes, a “patently dangerous homicidal man.” The Phillips say the companies should have seen the foreseeable risk that their products would be used in such an attack.

“The defendants did not make reasonable inquiries into Holmes’ purchases, nor did the defendants take any extra precautions when selling Holmes weapons, accessories and ammunition, or ask Holmes why he wanted the items,” the lawsuit says.

The defendants in the lawsuit are listed as BulkAmmo.com, BulletProofBodyArmorHQ.com, sportmansguide.com and BTP Arms. Court filings — which outline the alleged killer’s psychiatric background and the details of the attack — say the Phillips are not seeking to challenge law-abiding gun owners’ rights.

DOCUMENT: Read the lawsuit.

BulletProofBodyArmorHQ declined to comment when contacted by The Denver Post on Tuesday while the three other sites listed in the suit did not immediately return requests for comment.

The companies sold Holmes thousands of rounds of ammunition, a high-capacity ammunition magazine, tear gas and various pieces of bullet-proof body armor, according to the suit.

“A company should not be able to sell tear gas with the same procedures used to sell a pair of shoes,” said Kelly Sampson, an attorney for the Brady Center.

The suit seeks for the companies to change and stop their sales until their screening practices are changed.

Ghawi, a Texas native, was 24 years old when she was gunned down in the theater. She had been working for a television station in Denver covering sports at the time of her death.

Lonnie Phillips said Tuesday he thought his wife’s yells that awoke him when she found out their daughter was dead were because someone was breaking into his home.

“I could hear screams in the background of the theater,” Sandy Phillips said of the call informing her Ghawi was dead.

The Phillips have become outspoken gun restriction proponents, having knocked on doors in Colorado Springs speaking with potential recall voters in 2013, urging them to keep state Sen. John Morse in office. Morse, who vehemently backed several gun restriction bills in the state legislature, was recalled.

Twelve people were killed and 70 more injured inside of an Aurora movie theater in the rampage.

Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jesseapaul