HAVANA, Fla. (WTXL) — Ethan Pritchard and his family are suing two Havana apartment complexes, alleging years of unchecked crime created the conditions that led to the FSU freshman being shot.
- Lawsuit claims Riverside Apartment Complex and Havana Heights Apartments failed to address ongoing violence.
- Four suspects, including a 17-year-old charged as an adult, have been arrested in the shooting.
- Watch the video below to see what the lawsuit seeks from the apartment complexes.
Ethan Pritchard sues apartment complexes after being shot in mistaken identity
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Ethan Pritchard and his family are now taking legal action against Riverside Apartment Complex and Havana Heights Apartments. I’m Tayana Purifoy, your Havana Neighborhood Reporter, they're claiming both failed to address repeated crime before he was shot.
The lawsuit claims Riverside Apartment Complex and Havana Heights Apartments have a long, well-documented history of crime and violence in and around their properties.
According to court documents, Ethan and his family are seeking $50,000 in damages.
Employees at both apartment complexes allegedly knew criminal activity was happening on or near their property, but did not take any course action to prevent it.
And this wasn’t the first time violence was reported in that area. Just days before Ethan’s shooting—on August 25—Marcus Harris was shot multiple times near the same complexes.
Ethan Pritchard, a freshman football player at Florida State University, was shot in the head on August 31 while driving his aunt and niece home. Investigators say he was passing both apartment complexes when gunfire went off—later determining his vehicle was hit in a case of mistaken identity.
Since then, four suspects have been arrested, including a 17-year-old who is being charged as an adult. All four face three counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of shooting into an occupied vehicle.
Ethan spent months in the hospital before being transferred to Brooks Rehabilitation in Jacksonville and is now home. He was at the last FSU football home game and spent the day before with his teammates in practice.
We reached out to both Riverside Apartment Complex and Havana Heights Apartments for comment, but not response was made. In Havana Tatyana Purifoy ABC 27.
Original:
Ethan Pritchard, who was shot in a case of mistaken identity, is now suing the apartment complexes where the shooting happened.
Pritchard was driving past the Havana Heights and Riverside apartment complexes in Havana on August 31st when gunmen opened fire on his car.
The lawsuit filed in Gadsden County alleges both apartment complexes knew about the history of criminal activity in the area but failed to protect the public.
The FSU linebacker was shot in the head and critically injured.
His aunt and niece were also in the car but sustained only minor injuries.
Pritchard underwent emergency surgery and spent months in rehabilitation at the Brooks Rehabilitation Center in Jacksonville.
He was released earlier this month and has returned home to Sanford.
Four people have been arrested in connection with the shooting.
ABC 27 reached out to both apartment complexes and has yet to hear back.
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