The family of a 19-year-old killed during a home invasion has sued a Jacksonville apartment complex, alleging negligent security.
According to News4JAX, Hurlburt was shot on February 13 and died six days later.
The complaint alleges that defendants knew or should have known that violent crime at the complex made an attack foreseeable, and that they failed to take reasonable steps to protect residents. Those allegations represent claims made in the filing, not findings by a court. The family is seeking wrongful-death damages for grief, lost support and companionship, and related expenses, per the station's report.
What the Complaint Claims About Security Failures
Per the complaint, defendants failed to provide guards, working surveillance cameras, sufficient lighting and controlled access at the property. The filing also alleges that after acquiring the complex in 2023, the owner did not adequately warn residents about the property's crime history or take meaningful security measures, the station's report notes.
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office data cited in the lawsuit shows the department received 996 calls for service at the complex from July 1, 2023, through February 13, 2026 — a period the complaint describes as the defendants' roughly 31-month ownership window. Within that span, the data included 104 violent-crime-related calls, 67 calls involving assaults, batteries, fights or violent disputes, and 13 reports of gunfire. The data also included 111 property-crime calls, broken down into 36 burglary calls and 29 auto-theft calls. The station cautioned that calls for service are not findings that crimes actually occurred.
Attorneys Point to a Shooting Weeks Before Hurlburt's Death
Attorneys with the Haggard Law Firm cited 1,988 police calls at the property from 2021 to early 2026, a broader window than the ownership-period figures reported by the sheriff's office. The firm's summary listed 35 calls involving firearms or weapons and three person-shot calls during the ownership period, including the call reporting Hurlburt's shooting. The attorneys also reported that a person was shot at the complex 34 days before Hurlburt was killed, according to the firm's account relayed in the station's coverage.
The complex was previously known as Water's Edge. Marvin Ousley was killed in a shooting at the property in 2021, and his family previously sued over his death.
Family Planned to Speak Publicly, Appeal for Tips
The Hurlburt family had planned to speak publicly Thursday and call for accountability, with News4JAX saying it planned to stream the news conference at 11 a.m. The family and its attorney asked anyone with information about the shooting to contact the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500 or First Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS. News4JAX reported it had reached out to both the apartment ownership and the sheriff's office for comment and would update its story after receiving a response.
Florida Wrongful-Death Statute
Under Florida Statutes section 768.21, evidence that the decedent's spouse remarried is admissible. The claims against the apartment complex remain unproven and will need to be tested in court.
