Families of Allen 2023 shooting victims sue mall owner and others

A new lawsuit alleges that failures by Allen Premium Outlets' parent company and the company contracted to provide security led to more deaths and injuries during the 2023 mass shooting.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in Dallas County, was brought by the families of those injured or killed in the shooting. Eight people were killed and at least seven others were injured by the gunman, who was armed with an AR-15. The gunman was killed minutes after the attack by an Allen police officer who was on an unrelated call nearby.

The shooting victims represented in the lawsuit are Elio Cumana Rivas, 32; Aishwarya Thatikonda, 26; Kyu Song Cho, 37; Cindy Shinyoung Cho, 35; and James Cho, 3. Preetibala Patel, who was injured in the shooting, and her family also joined the lawsuit.

Sisters Sofia and Daniela Mendoza (8 and 11) and Christian LaCour (20) were also killed in the shooting.

The lawsuit alleges that Simon Property Group, the parent company of Allen Premium Outlets, knew about the risk of violence at outdoor facilities but failed to take adequate safety measures.

It is also alleged that Allied Universal Security Services, the company responsible for security at the mall, did not adequately staff the 56,000 square meter facility. An unarmed security guard, LaCour, was present. He was killed by the gunman.

“Allen Police required dozens of uniformed officers to adequately secure such a large, densely populated outdoor area,” the complaint states. “Simon and Allied ignored these requests and failed to provide a comparable level of security as an alternative.”

A spokesman for Allied Universal Security said the company does not comment on ongoing litigation. A representative for Simon Property did not immediately respond to a voicemail request for comment.

The complaint also alleges that Simon Property Group failed to provide assistance from its intelligence headquarters during the shooting, leaving law enforcement without direction.

“We claim that [the shooter] “was much more successful in harming mall visitors, including our clients, because of what we believe was a completely inadequate security system at the mall,” said Jeffrey Simon, an attorney representing the plaintiffs in the case.

The lawsuit details the personal stories of the people whose families are the subject of the lawsuit. All of them are immigrants or come from immigrant families. They came to the United States to pursue the American dream, but instead experienced the “American nightmare” of mass murder.

Simon said the lawsuit is not just about financial compensation for the families, but also about raising awareness of the need for better safety measures to prevent mass shootings.

“If we want to reduce gun violence in America, adequate security in places where the public gathers is essential,” Simon said.

Budget Suites of America is also a defendant in the lawsuit. The shooter lived at a Budget Suites before the attack, and the lawsuit alleges Budget Suites staff were negligent in failing to report suspected criminal activity.