Gunfight at Home Depot Started at Peninsula at Buckhead

The management and owners of The Peninsula at Buckhead could be liable for a gunfight that started as an altercation on the apartment’s pool deck.

Three bystanders were injured by gunfire in a Home Depot parking lot when a fight that started at the rooftop pool area of The Peninsula at Buckhead moved into the lobby and across the street. The men injured were 71-year-old Richard Sweeley, 55-year-old Volcan Topalli, and 22-year-old Andre Bourdages.

In a statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “The Peninsula said the rooftop pool party was ‘not organized or sanctioned by our property management team.’” That statement, however, does not absolve the managers or owners from any liability associated with the shootings.

Chuck Clay who practices negligent security law in Atlanta says, “If the people responsible for the shooting were not residents or invited guests, the apartment community could be partly responsible for creating what the law calls an ‘attractive nuisance.’”

Online reviews of The Peninsula at Buckhead claim that “the gate is broken half the time allowing anyone into the complex.” Another review complains that because of the broken gate “there are frequently homeless people wandering around the decks.” Other complaints of broken call boxes, a lack of security cameras, and reports of abandoned vehicles indicate that management is not paying attention to the security of their property.

Georgia law requires property owners and managers to take reasonable steps to protect their tenants and guests from foreseeable risks. If it can be proven that the owners and managers of The Peninsula at Buckhead were aware of the security problems at their property and they failed to act, they could be held liable for acts of violence on their property and for violence that occurs off property if the events began on their premises.

But the police can’t hold the owners and managers accountable. It’s up to the survivors of violent crimes to stand up for themselves and use the civil justice system to demand accountability and fight for compensation for their injuries. By forcing property owners and managers to acknowledge crime on their property and make simple efforts to make their properties less attractive to criminals, we can Make Atlanta Safe, one community at a time.