A Los Angeles Target is facing a negligence lawsuit after two customers were stabbed by a homeless man while they were shopping in the store.
The unprovoked and seemingly random attack took place last November 15 and left nine-year-old Brayden Medina and 25-year-old Joo Hye Song hospitalized with stab wounds. Four months after the attack, the parents of both victims filed separate lawsuits against the big box retailer. Both plaintiffs are being represented by the same Law Firm, Panish, Shea, Boyle, Ravipudi LLP. In addition to Target, Brookfield Properties and Watermark Security Group are also named in the complaints.
The lawsuits accused Target of negligence and premises liability because they had open knives out for display for anyone to handle. That is exactly what the 40-year-old homeless attacker who has not been named did when he came into the store, seemingly choosing his victims at random. The attacker grabbed a 9-inch blade butcher-style knife off of the store's shelf and made his way through the store to find his victims. After attacking the two victims, he was later stopped after a security guard fatally shot him.
One of the lawsuits explains, “Despite knowing that was seeing an uptick in crime and homelessness, as evidenced, in part, by Target employing an armed security guard to keep the store safe, on the evening of November 15, 2022, a deranged homeless man walked freely into the store, grabbed a butcher knife with a 9-inch blade easily off a shelf and proceeded to brutally attack not just one customer but two customers before he was belatedly shot by the security guard.”
One of the lawsuits highlights that following the incident, Target now locks its knives behind display cases, emphasizing that this is "a safety measure that should have already been in place before this tragedy occurred."
Reports indicate that the young boy became separated from his mom while at the store. As he was trying to find her, the homeless man attacked, stabbing him in the shoulder twice unprovoked. According to LAPD Chief Michel Moore, the homeless man told the boy that he was going to “stab and kill him.”
The attacker then turned his attention to a group of women where Song was “brutally” attacked according to police. Nearby customers rushed to the aid of the South Korean national where they pulled her into the pharmacy department to keep her away from the attacker.
According to the young boy's family in their lawsuit, the nine-year-old suffered “grave and life-changing injuries” which required him to spend more than a month in the hospital. The lawsuit alleges that “Neither the armed security guard nor anyone working at the store came to the boy’s (or his mother’s) rescue before it was too late.”
Both lawsuits are based on the grounds of negligence and premises liability. Medina’s complaint further alleges that the defendants are responsible for the intentional infliction of emotional distress as well.
