The families of several victims in last year’s Allen Premium Outlets shooting and others are suing the mall’s owner and its security company contractor with for allegedly not taking steps to prevent gun violence across the country.
The latest lawsuit — filed Aug. 23 in Dallas County district court — names Simon Property Group, which owns Allen Premium Outlets, and Allied Universal Security Services as defendants. The suit alleges the companies failed to properly secure the Allen mall and have long failed to prevent crime at Simon-owned shopping centers across the country.
“Across the ten years Simon and Allied bragged that its security systems were unparalleled, they did not at the Allen, Texas location meaningfully prepare for an active shooter event,” the suit said.
The lawsuit was brought by the families of Kyu Song Cho, Cindy Shinyoung Cho and their 3-year-old son James, Elio Cumana Rivas and Aishwarya Thatikonda, who were among the eight victims shot and killed by 33-year-old gunman Mauricio Garcia. Preetibala Patel, another plaintiff, was among those injured in the shooting, according to the suit.
The suit was filed by attorneys with National Trial Law in Austin and Simon Greenstone Panatier in Dallas. The plaintiffs are seeking more than $1 million in damages.
The Allen Police Department responded to more than 3,000 calls to the outlet mall in the three years before the shooting, the lawsuit alleges — sometimes receiving multiple calls a day. According to the suit, Allen police advocated for more uniformed officers to secure the mall, but Simon and Allied “ignored” those requests.
“Simon and Allied likewise knew that its malls were attractive targets for criminal activity, including mass gun violence,” the suit said. “Simon and Allied did not update their security policies, procedures, or safeguards to reflect the growing prevalence of threats of violence and mass shootings in Texas.”
Just one Allied security guard was on duty at the mall May 6, 2023, according to the suit — Christian LaCour, who was unarmed and also killed in the shooting. An Allen police officer on an unrelated call in the area heard the shots fired.
This is at least the third lawsuit brought against Simon Property Group and Allied Universal Security Services this summer over shootings at Simon shopping centers.
Two lawsuits were filed in July on behalf of people injured and killed in a shooting at a Simon-owned mall in Greenwood, Indiana, in 2022. An Indiana appeals court judge is considering whether to dismiss a separate lawsuit involving a woman who was injured in the shooting.
A woman whose 13-year-old daughter was killed outside Concord Mills Mall in North Carolina sued Simon and Allied Universal in 2021. A man hit during a 2005 shooting at Tacoma Mall in Washington sued Simon Property Group for negligence.
The Allen lawsuit also points to other instances of violence at Simon properties in Massachusetts and Oklahoma.
Meanwhile, Allied Universal Security Services has also been accused of not properly training employees and failing citizens.
Simon Property Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Allied Universal said the company does not comment on pending litigation.
The families are also suing Garcia, the gunman who was shot and killed by police during the shooting. Garcia moved out of his mother’s home and began staying at the Budget Suites of America on North Stemmons Freeway months before the shooting, according to the suit.
Garcia allegedly used his motel room as a base to plan the mall attack and stockpile weapons and tactical gear. He allegedly signed a Nazi “SS” symbol when he checked into the motel.
KERA previously reported Garcia included the symbol in multiple signatures on his application to become a security officer in 2015. Law enforcement officials said Garcia was armed with eight weapons the day of the shooting and had "neo-Nazi ideation."
The suit accuses Budget Suites of failing to report Garcia’s behavior to police. Budget Suites could not be reached for comment.
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