Georgia residents may remember a deadly shooting incident that took place at a movie theater in Florida. In 2014, a 73-year-old man fatally shot a man and shot the man’s wife in the hand while movie previews were playing at the Wesley Chapel movie theater.
According to reports about the incident, the shooting occurred during a disagreement about texting. The 73-year-old retired policeman was charged with second-degree murder as well as aggravated battery. At a hearing that will take place in April or May, the shooter is expected to argue for a dismissal of his charges using Florida’s ‘stand your ground” law.
A wrongful death lawsuit was filed by the widow of the man who was killed in the theater shooting. The woman filed the lawsuit in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court and named the movie theater and an employee at the movie theater as defendants. According to the plaintiff, the theater and theater employee did not take steps to enforce the theater’s no-weapons policy. The plaintiff is seeking in excess of $15,000 for economic, physical and psychological damages.
When a person is injured or killed in a shooting incident, there may be multiple parties that hold civil liability. In addition to the shooter, the owner of the property where the shooting occurred may be found responsible for the deaths or injuries that were caused by the shooter’s actions. An attorney can assist the victim or the decedent’s survivors if there is a case for filing a wrongful death or premises liability lawsuit.
Source: ABC News, “Widow Sues Theater Employee, Company Over Shooting Death,” Jan. 13, 2016