ORLANDO, Fla. – The legal team of Ethan Pritchard, the Florida State University freshman football player who survived being shot in the back of the head earlier this year, held a news conference Wednesday to discuss their lawsuit against the apartment complexes where they say the shooting originated.
“What if apartment owners, property owners, actually paid attention to what the needs are of their complexes, their properties, where they collect rent? Well I can tell you that in this case, had they done that, we wouldn’t be here today. Ethan would be preparing for the big game this weekend, the Florida/Florida State game, but for the fact that these apartment complexes neglected to live up to their duties of making sure that there’s a safe environment for not only the residents of those communities, but also for those who come to visit or may be passing by these apartment complexes,” said Gregorio Francis of Osborne & Francis Law Firm. “In this case, it is very clear. Preliminary investigation has revealed that they knew, they clearly knew that there were security issues at both of these complexes and it’s clear that they have done nothing, otherwise we wouldn’t be sitting here today.”
Pritchard was hospitalized in critical condition on Aug. 31 after being shot while dropping off family members at a home in Havana, Florida, and he was in the hospital until being transferred to a rehabilitation center in October.
Investigators described the shooting as a case of mistaken identity, with Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass stating Pritchard was “not doing anything wrong” when he was ambushed.
Four people have since been arrested in connection to the shooting.
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Pritchard returned to Sanford on Nov. 16 after spending weeks in recovery. Neither Pritchard nor his father were in attendance at Wednesday’s news conference.
The lawsuit, filed Nov. 10 in Gadsden County, accuses Riverside Apartments and Havana Heights Apartments of negligence, such as by allegedly allowing one or more of the accused assailants to reside at their premises and failing to secure the immediate vicinity via terminating leases for observable, longstanding criminal activity.
Ryan Fletcher of Osborne & Francis Law Firm said Wednesday that a pattern of violence had been increasing at the apartment complexes where Pritchard was shot.
“At Havana Heights, there was five shootings in about the year before this incident. Now, Havana Heights specifically knew that they had to do more to make their property safer. There were shootings that were going on on the property and into the roadway and Riverside Apartments is their next door neighbor. They knew about this, too. Their security cameras actually show the entrance to their apartment complex and Havana Heights’,” Fletcher said. “In the weeks leading up to this incident, there were multiple shooting incidents that were being perpetrated by a resident that lived at Riverside. This resident was known to Riverside, he was previously arrested at Riverside’s property for having an illegal gun and they allowed him to return and live there. Now, it’s the police’s theory that that resident and his friends were essentially operating as a gang and they had committed a shooting just five days before this incident, and despite that shooting just five days before Ethan got shot, neither property did anything to increase security.”
The lawsuit demands a jury trial and damages in excess of $50,000.
[WATCH BELOW: FSU football player shot in head sues apartment complexes where he says shooting originated]
The legal team for Riverside Apartments has since provided News 6 with the following statement:
We are fully cooperating with law enforcement on their investigation. We have a firm policy not to comment on cases in active litigation.
Zachary J. Brewer, senior partner with Luks, Santaniello, Petrillo, Cohen & Peterfriend (excerpt)