BRIDGEPORT — The families of eight people who were killed and also two people who were seriously injured in the December 14, 2012, shooting incident at Sandy Hook Elementary School have filed lawsuits against the estate of the mother of the gunman in the incident.

Through the two lawsuits, the ten plaintiffs, in effect, are seeking money damages from the insurance firm that provided coverage for the home of Nancy Lanza at Yogananda Street in Sandy Hook.

One of the two lawsuits claims that Nancy Lanza exhibited “carelessness and negligence,” resulting in the shooting incident.

In that incident, Adam Lanza, 20, initially shot and killed his mother at their home, then drove to the school where he shot and killed 20 first grade students and six educators, before killing himself as police approached the scene.

Named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed in Bridgeport Superior Court are the estates of educators Victoria Soto, Mary Sherlach, Rachel D’Avino, and Lauren Rosseau; the estates of students Benjamin Wheeler, Dylan Hockley, and Daniel Barden; and surviving educators Natalie Hammond and Deborah Pisani.

Named as a plaintiff in a separate lawsuit filed in Danbury Superior Court is the estate of student James Mattioli.

The two lawsuits are being consolidated in Bridgeport Superior Court by a judge because their content is similar.

The defendant named in the two lawsuits is Samuel Starks, the administrator of Nancy Lanza’s estate.

According to the lawsuit filed by nine of the plaintiffs, Nancy Lanza, at some point before the shooting incident, bought a Bushmaster AR-15 style semiautomatic rifle.

“The weapon was an assault rifle designed for military use in modern warfare. The Bushmaster was built to spray rapid fire and pierce body armor in order to inflict maximum casualties on the battlefield, but was sold to the general public by its manufacturer and various other business entities, even though it had no practical civilian purpose for self-defense or reasonable sporting activities,” the suit states.

Nancy Lanza kept the gun stored unsecured in her home where Adam Lanza had access to it, the lawsuit adds.

Adam Lanza’s access to that gun was “substantial factor” in the deaths and injuries of the plaintiffs, according to the court papers.

According to the lawsuit filed on behalf of the Mattioli estate, “the carelessness and negligence of Nancy Lanza” caused the injuries and deaths, in that she failed to adequately to lock up or otherwise adequately secure the gun in her home.

The Mattioli lawsuit adds that Nancy Lanza allowed her son access to the weapon, although she knew or should have known that “his mental and emotional condition made him a danger to others.

“Nancy Lanza’s actions were a substantial factor leading to the injuries and death” on 12/14, it adds.

Both lawsuits seek unspecified money damages exceeding $15,000.

A court conference on the status of the legal action is scheduled for April 9.

The Town of Newtown has acquired the Lanza home for $1 from the bank which held its mortgage. The town plans to have the house demolished soon.

Other previous wrongful death lawsuits stemming from the 12/14 incident which seek money damages have named the Town of Newtown, and also the manufacturer, the distributor, and the seller of the semiautomatic Bushmaster AR-15 rifle as defendants.