Florida State University freshman linebacker Ethan Pritchard is taking legal action against two apartment complexes in Havana, Florida, for what he claims was a failure to adequately address violent crime issues. Pritchard, who was shot in the head on August 31, contends that both Riverside Apartments and Havana Heights had experienced multiple shootings in the previous year, including an incident just five days before he was wounded. According to a WFTV report, Pritchard's attorney argued that "basic security" measures like improved lighting, gates, or security personnel could have possibly prevented the attack. The 18-year-old linebacker is currently undergoing rehabilitation for a critical brain injury.
The violent encounter occurred as Pritchard was driving his aunt home from an FSU football game, an incident that attorneys say could have easily turned deadly. "What if apartment owners… actually paid attention to what the needs are of their complexes," Greg Orio Francis, Pritchard's attorney, said at a press conference, as obtained by WFTV. The perpetrators reportedly walked around the complexes for 30 minutes armed with an AK-47 before the incident. Pritchard's niece and aunt also sustained minor injuries during the attack.
A deeper dive into the lawsuit reveals that Pritchard is suing Riverside Apartments LPP, Community Havana LLC, and their respective property managers, Daniel McMillan and Republic First Management Inc. According to FOX 35 Orlando, the lawsuit accuses them of knowing about the predisposition for criminal conduct on their premises that exposed residents and guests to potential danger. Allegations of negligence encompass the failure to provide adequate security, surveillance and not take necessary precautions to protect people.
The complaint includes serious charges of negligence, suggesting that the shooting was a reasonably foreseeable result of the defendants' inactions. "The lawsuit raised three counts of negligence," Pritchard's legal team argued, cited by FOX 35 Orlando, emphasizing that both complexes and their managers knew or should have known about the persistent threat of violent crimes in their vicinity. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) does require Section 8 landlords to conduct criminal background checks—an obligation that the lawsuit suggests may have been negligently overlooked by the defendants.
After the shooting, which law enforcement officials describe as a case of mistaken identity, authorities arrested three men and one teenager in connection with the incident.
