Mother of Atlanta teen shot, killed inside condemned apartment complex files lawsuit
Lawsuit claims apartment management didn't keep child safe
The mother of a teen shot and killed inside a now-condemned apartment complex in metro Atlanta has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the property management group. Her attorney claims Forest Cove Apartment management failed to keep her son safe.
Months after Atlanta city officials relocated a few hundred residents of Forest Cove Apartments due to poor living conditions, a wrongful death lawsuit names the complex and property management group, Millennia Housing Management, as defendants.
"Between the number of murders, code violations, rat infestations, mold, the place was literally falling apart," attorney Parker Miller said of the complex in an interview Tuesday.
The complaint filed in Fulton County on March 31 on behalf of former tenant Takezia Jackson stems from a July 2022 shooting inside the complex that claimed the life of her 17-year-old son Jamarkis Jackson. Jackson was one of many teens known around metro Atlanta for selling water on street corners.
"This vehicle was allowed to enter the complex unabated. We believe there were multiple people in the car. They remained in the complex and then at some point, they pulled out guns, and just started firing into the crowd," Miller recalled of the incident.
Miller, who has handled a number of similar lawsuits, said this is one of the worst cases of negligence by an apartment complex he has seen.
"The level of criminal activity here was so unprecedented there’s a lot that we already know," he explained. "The conditions that existed at this complex, they don’t happen overnight…they happen as a result of a systemic pattern of not caring."
The lawsuit claims the property management group was aware of violent criminal activity in and around the complex before the shooting and chose not to take reasonable measures to protect the health, safety and welfare of those frequenting the complex.
"There’s gunshots, gang activity and ultimately, what you have in this case, which is a 17-year-old child along with multiple other people that are just shot in a shooting frenzy," Miller stated.
Jackson’s mother is suing the company for damages based on her son’s potential earnings. The management company has 45 days from when the suit was filed to answer to the complaint and discovery.
FOX 5 reached out to the property management group, but did not hear back as of late Tuesday evening.