DALLAS — The city of Dallas filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the church and event promoter involved in hosting a concert where a mass shooting erupted earlier this month, killing one man and injuring 16 other people.
The suit names Germaud L. Lyons, the event promoter who goes by “Bossman Bubba,” and St. John Missionary Baptist Church, which owns the property where the concert was held, according to a city news release. The church and Lyons could not be reached Wednesday for comment. It is unclear whether they have attorneys.
“Because the proper process wasn’t followed, a tragedy occurred,” said Jill Haning, an executive assistant city attorney and chief of community prosecution. “We’re just trying to hold the people responsible that need to be held responsible and try to prevent it from happening again.”
The lawsuit was filed after the April 2 shooting at the unpermitted event in the 5000 block of Cleveland Road. The shooting killed Kealon Gilmore, 26, and injured 16 others who ranged in age from 13 to 29.
Police have said a person shot into the air, leading to an argument before another unknown person fired into the crowd. No arrests have been made.
Another victim injured in the shooting, Jazmin Anderson, also joined a lawsuit this week that was filed earlier this month by the parents of a 14-year-old girl who was shot in the thigh at the concert and may be unable to walk again.
Anderson was shot in the head and is still hospitalized and undergoing treatment, her mother, Monecia Anderson, said Wednesday.
“Jazmin is on the road to recovery and is responding well to her rehabilitation and therapy,” her mother said. “We are all doing as well to be expected in this situation but continue to push on.”
The lawsuit was filed against church, record label and artists and alleges a lack of proper supervision and safety precautions. Adult entertainment club V Live Dallas; record label Collective Music Group; and artists Big Boogie, Big Fella Zil, Bossman Bubba, Hit Dat, DJ Hollywood, DJ Lil Bill and DJ T-Real are all named in the suit.
Chris Mazzola, an attorney representing Anderson’s family, said that the suit — which is seeking more than $1 million in damages — is about more than the money. He said that the city of Dallas wasn’t sued, the suit is about “implementing regulations and proper procedures to ensure that every event has proper security.”
Seven off-duty Dallas police officers worked security at the concert after receiving approval from their supervisors. The officers left about 30 minutes before the gunfire erupted when their shifts had ended, the department has said.
Mazzola said he hopes the suit results in changes in the city and better enforcement of permitting rules.
“If you were to put a blank check in front of Jazmin or the opportunity to reverse time so that this never happened, we know which one that she would choose,” Mazzola said. “She’s going to choose the opportunity to reverse time.
“This is about impact, it’s about change, it’s about calling attention to what happens when people shortchange things, when people don’t follow protocol, when people don’t enforce regulations, things like this happen.”
Chris Caso, Dallas’ city attorney, told council members last week the city was considering a lawsuit against those involved in hosting the concert as officials looked for ways to crack down on event promoters and property owners of unpermitted events.
Caso had said that the church could face a fine of up to $2,000, and that a lawsuit could prevent property owners from holding events on that land in the future.
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