It's the first lawsuit of its kind in the city and is intended to address gun violence in Philadelphia.
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"These illegal firearms exacerbate our crime rates, intensify the challenges faced by our communities, and pose an imminent threat to the public and our brave officers," said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw.
The lawsuit takes aim at straw purchase transactions, in which someone buys a gun to illegally transfer it to someone else or supply it to the criminal gun market.
"We talk about responsibility, who's responsible for the guns flowing through our streets?" asked City Council President Darrell Clarke (D - Dist 5).
"(The gun shops) clearly have not met their level of responsibility to making sure these guns are sold to the right people," he said.
City leaders say it's contributing to crime in Philadelphia.
"These shops know it's illegal to sell to straw buyers," said Renee Garcia, chair of litigation in the City of Philadelphia Law Department.
The city of Philadelphia filed the lawsuit with a co-council composed of the law firms Kramer Levin and Everytown Law. Everytown Law has filed similar lawsuits in other cities, such as Chicago.
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"Gun stores that are federally licensed are trained and regularly reminded of how to straw purchase," said Alla Lefkowitz, senior director of Affirmative Litigation for Everytown Law. "These indicators (of straw purchases) include bulk purchases of firearms. Buying the same firearm over and over again."
Experts say straw purchasers also engage in practices such as having one person choose the firearm at a gun shop while another person fills out the form and pays for the gun, oftentimes in cash.
The three shops named in the civil suit are Tanner's Sports Center in Jamison (Bucks County), Delia's Gun Shop in the Wissinoming neighborhood, and Franks Gun Shop in the Holmesburg neighborhood.
The lawsuit claims the three shops have collectively sold at least 158 guns to at least 32 straw purchasers between March 2018 and March 2022.
"From 2015 to 2019, more than 1,300 crime guns recovered in Philadelphia were traceable to the three defendant businesses," said Mayor Jim Kenney (D Philadelphia).
Tuesday's press conference comes just three weeks after another press conference at City Hall where officials announced a lawsuit against distributors of ghost guns, which are sold in parts and are untraceable.
READ | City of Philadelphia files lawsuit against 2 manufacturers of ghost guns
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City leaders say the lawsuits are their only recourse after frustrating fights with state lawmakers who resist Philadelphia's efforts to create its gun laws.
"The legislature won't stop them and Congress won't stop them," said Kenney. "We have to resort to a civil lawsuit to get them where they really live, which is their pocketbooks."
Action News reached out to all three gun shops. The manager at Delia's Gun Shop found out about the lawsuit only after it was announced at City Hall. The shop had no comment.
Frank's Gun Shop also had no comment. Workers at Tanner's Sports Center repeatedly hung up when phoned by Action News.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. It's recourse, city leaders say, for the damage straw purchases have caused.
"Their reckless business practices have resulted in a loss of life and many other preventable tragedies," said Garcia.
When asked whether there could be more lawsuits filed by the city targeting illegal guns, Kenney said additional lawsuits are possible.