Could the owners of Milledgeville Manor be considered liable in the most recent shooting on the premises?
Police are investigating after a shooting at Milledgeville Manor left a 19-year-old boy hospitalized. The victim’s name has not been released by the authorities. The victim sustained a gunshot wound to the chest, and was driven to the hospital by his girlfriend. The investigation is ongoing.
Under Georgia state law, property owners have a responsibility to their tenants to keep their communities safe. If crime is a foreseeable issue on the property, these landlords and property managers are required to take reasonable measures to prevent crime.
This is not the first shooting to have occurred on the premises. Just over a year ago there were two separate shootings mere hours apart. Two months before that, there was another drive-by shooting at the complex. In 2018 there was another string of shootings, which left Cuatez Jones, a 16-year-old, as well as others dead and a sleeping woman killed in a drive-by.
Online reviews are sparse, but one guide made note of the fact that the complex was in a “bad area.”
When foreseeable crime occurs that could have been prevented by reasonable measures, the owners and managers could be held liable for damages. It is up to the families of the victims and the survivors of violent crime to demand justice in the civil court system. Only then will distant or negligent landlords have the motivation they need to make the necessary changes to their properties. Together we can Make Atlanta Safe, one community at a time.