Georgia residents have likely heard about the shooting that took place on August 26. That is the day a 24-year-old man opened fire during a Madden video game tournament at GLHF Game Bar in Jacksonville. As a result, many survivors of the shooting are planning to file a negligence lawsuit. The attorney representing the potential plaintiffs has not said who the defendants may be. The bar itself is located in an area called Jacksonville Landing that is owned by the city.
According to the attorney, there have been other acts of violence in the area. Therefore, it could have been foreseen that something similar could have taken place at the Madden tournament. He also claimed that eSports involve a lot of money, which means that there should have been more security at the event. The event was a qualifying tournament for the Madden Classic.
According to a member of the Tampa office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the shooter legally purchased the guns that were used in the shooting. The weapons were purchased from a licensed dealer in Baltimore within a month of the incident. Although the man had been treated for mental health issues, he passed a background check. Two men, aged 27 and 22, were killed in the shooting.
When someone is injured or killed while on property owned by another person or entity, that owner may be responsible for the injury or death. This may be true if the incident was caused by inadequate security or other dangerous conditions on the premises. Generally speaking, a person has a duty to protect those who are on his or her property if they are invited or otherwise allowed to be there. An attorney may help gather evidence to support a claim of owner negligence.
Source: USA Today, ‘‘It must always be people over profits’: Jacksonville shooting survivors to file lawsuit,” David J. Osborn and John Bacon, August 28, 2018