Lawsuit Filed at Apartment Complex Where Mass Shooting Took Place

The residents of Oakwood Terrace Apartments have filed a $10 million lawsuit against the apartment complex over a mass shooting that occurred on-premises. Residences say that the company that manages the property ignored security concerns over two prior murders on the grounds.

On April 15, 2021, multiple gunmen sprayed the apartment complex with bullets resulting in five people being rushed to the hospital. A well-known 18-year-old rapper was murdered at the same apartment complex 10 months earlier. A sixteen-year-old was murdered at a different apartment complex managed by the same company. The two properties are located just five miles apart.

Elements of negligence

This is known as a negligent security lawsuit. Essentially, plaintiffs allege that a property owner failed to secure an area to which they had access to and this resulted in injury. Ostensibly, it would appear that the apartment complex is not responsible for a mass shooting involving several gunmen. However, community leaders had asked the apartment complex to provide additional lighting, security cameras, and more to protect the residents of these complexes. It never happened, and this culminated in a mass shooting involving.

A means of remedy

Could additional security have prevented the shooting from occurring? Maybe. Better lighting, more security cameras, and having someone on-premises who could respond to a threat would have likely made someone think twice before shooting up the building. But would any of those things stop a person who was inclined to shoot up a building?

Maybe, maybe not. Negligence is not necessarily a clear-cut issue. The law makes room for negligence being the direct cause of a person’s injuries or a proximate cause of a person’s injuries. A proximate cause doesn’t have to be direct, but it can’t be very far down the domino chain either.

In this case, the plaintiffs have to make the argument that but for the lack of adequate security, they would not have been injured that day. Personal injury lawyers generally win these lawsuits by pointing to prior incidents and discuss what could have (or should have) been done to prevent future incidents.

In this case, there was no response by the apartment complex. They did not provide adequate lighting, they did not increase security cameras, and they did not provide adequate onsite security after two prior incidents became known to them. While it’s unclear that more security could have prevented the mass shooting, the mass shooting was much more likely to be successful because of the lack of security. In other words, criminals could have preyed on that area because security was lax, so it became a lightning rod for violent crime. At least that’s what the plaintiffs will try to prove.

Talk to a Miami Personal Injury Attorney Today

The Miami personal injury attorneys at the office of Alan Goldfarb, P.A. represent the interests of those injured due to negligent security. Call today to schedule a free consultation and learn more about how we can help.

Resource:

wkrg.com/northwest-florida/10-million-lawsuit-filed-for-victims-of-oakwood-terrace-apartments-mass-shooting/

https://www.goldfarbpa.com/appeals-court-amazon-liable-for-defective-products/