INDIANAPOLIS — Attorneys on behalf of the families of three people killed in the Greenwood Park Mall mass shooting filed lawsuits against Simon Property Group and Allied Universal Security Services.
Victor Gomez, Pedro Pineda and Rosa Pineda were all killed in the mass shooting on July 17, 2022, at the Greenwood Park Mall.
In lawsuits filed in Marion County Court on July 9, 2024, lawyers for the families argue that both companies should have been able to spot the threat of the shooter and do more to protect customers from the violence.
Both lawsuits accuse Simon Property Group and Allied Universal Security Services of allocating security "unevenly from one demographic area to the other, without proper regard to the specific threats received and dangers posed at certain malls such as the Greenwood Park Mall."
The lawsuits request jury trials seeking unspecified damages from the companies.
Cohen & Malad attorney Andrea Simmons said the lawsuit is just the beginning.
"There's a lot of material we can't get until the suit is filed. Simon and Allied are not going to simply voluntarily turn over their internal documents and footage so that we can see, for example, the roster of the people working that day and the names of the witnesses. The lawsuit is the means by which we do a much more thorough investigation," Simmons said.
Allied Universal Security Services told 13News Wednesday the company does not comment on pending litigation.
"The thing about civil justice is we don't have a way of turning back the clock. We can't bring back the people who were killed or fix permanent injuries. Our only method of getting civil justice is through monetary compensation," Simmons said.
The Stewart family sues over Greenwood Park Mall shooting
Another suit was filed Jan. 2, 2024, by a family that had two daughters at the mall when the shooting happened July 17, 2022, in the mall's food court. One of the girls, 22-year-old Kaya, was shot multiple times by the shooter, who also fired at the other daughter but missed.
According to the lawsuit, the girls' mother, Eumeka Stewart, said she was walking toward the food court to meet the girls when she heard gunshots. She ran from the mall with a crowd of people and pulled her car up near an entrance, but could not reach her daughters by phone.
A first responder later told Stewart her daughter had been shot, but she did not know if the girl was still alive. Stewart eventually heard from her other daughter, who was hiding inside a movie theater. Stewart's son, Samuel Stewart IV, went into the theater to get his sister – who had fainted – and her friend out of the mall.
Both girls survived, but the family alleges Simon should have known the risk of active shooters and had better security. The lawsuit claims the shooter walked from his home through the mall's parking lot past "multiple security patrols and video cameras" before entering the mall. The suit says the gunman was carrying "a long, black backpack consistent with those used to tote rifles and other assault weapons" as he walked through the lot and the mall.
The lawsuit claims the defendants did not take action to evacuate shoppers as the suspect entered the mall and spent more than an hour in a bathroom, reportedly preparing for the shooting. The family also claims no security personnel were present in the food court when the shooting occurred and that no Simon employees or security officers checked on the man while he was in the bathroom prior to the shooting.
13News spoke to the girls' father, Samuel Stewart III, who said they are filing the lawsuit now because – at the time – the family was going through a lot of emotional and physical trauma and was not ready to file a lawsuit.
“Getting a phone call out of the blue with the three words from my wife screaming that Kaya has been shot is something I would never dream of my daughter experiencing or my wife even saying,” Samuel said.
He said Kaya is still in pain after being shot twice, and she is not able to work.
Samuel said his youngest daughter, now 17, does not want to go to school and has to be home-schooled. She is being treated for anxiety, depression and other medical issues.
“My girls will be going through these things most likely for the rest of their lives, and as a dad, I have to look out for the best interest of my family,” Samuel said. “I don’t wish this on anyone’s family, and if there was a way to get monetary compensation, it is a poor way to do. It’s a horrible way to do it, but my family is hurting, and other families have been hurt, and honestly, other families are at risk because nothing has been done to resolve these issues.”
Simon has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit and did not respond to 13News by the time this article was updated. Allied Universal Event Services said it does not comment on pending litigation.