City, families suing Dallas church, organizers after shooting at unauthorized concert
The City of Dallas is suing an event promoter and a church, claiming they violated city code when they hosted a concert in which 11 people were shot and one killed, according to a news release from the city.
Germaud L. Lyons, who goes by “Bossman Bubba,” and St. John Missionary Baptist Church are named in the suit. The city is claiming they did not have the proper authorization to host the concert, dubbed the “Second Annual Epic Easter Bike Out & Field Party.
It was not immediately clear how involved the church was in planning or executing the concert.
The April 2 shooting at 5050 Cleveland Road in southeast Oak Cliff killed 26-year-old Kealon Gilmore and saw 15 others injured from the shooting, according to an April 4 statement from Dallas police. The injuries included one 13-year-old, two 14-year-olds and one 15-year-old. An 18-year-old was also injured, but not from the shooting.
Police responded to the trail ride and concert shooting around 12:15 a.m. April 3, according to a news release. They initially believed there were 10 people shot, including three minors, and one killed. As they continued investigating, police found more injuries.
Police the next day said they believed that one person fired a gun into the air at the event before another unknown person fired a gun in the crowd’s direction. They confirmed on April 3 that 11 people had been transported to the hospital by both private vehicles and ambulances.
The city said it is seeking injunctive relief and civil penalties against Lyons and the church. It did not say how much the city hopes to win in the lawsuit.
Two of the victims’ families are also suing, asking for $1 million from the church, promoters, entertainers and the entertainment venue as defendants, Star-Telegram news partner WFAA reported.
The family of Jazmin Anderson said the 22-year-old was shot in the head at the concert and that Anderson will have fragments of the bullet in her brain for the rest of her life, according to WFAA.
The lawsuit says Anderson has irreversible brain damage because of the wound and that she wasn’t able to get to the hospital fast enough because of the number of people at the event, WFAA reported.
“The road was so blocked, congested, that there is really one road in, and one road out,” Chris Mazzola, the Andersons’ attorney, told WFAA.
Mizzola’s law firm, Patterson Law Group, is looking for witnesses to speak with about the shooting.
The Dallas Morning News reported Anderson’s family is joining the lawsuit of a 14-year-old girl who was shot in the thigh and may never be able to walk again. That lawsuit was filed on April 8.
The lawsuit filed by the family of the 14-year-old said the event was marketed as a “family friendly” event with free admission for children 10 or younger and an Easter egg hunt. A fliyer for another event, which the lawsuit says was an “after party” named The Epic Easter 2k22, was set to take place at adult entertainment club V Live.
Both fliers, included in the lawsuit, say “Bossman Bubba Presents.”
The family of the 14-year-old girl said the organizers of the event knew a large crowd was coming because tickets were available for presale online and Lyons, using his moniker for event promotions, announced that presale tickets were sold out on March 24.
The lawsuit says “prospective attendees were told not to worry, because they could still ‘pay at the gate.’“
The lawsuit says the organizers assured the public it would be “fun and safe” and posted “alleged ground rules” including that “drama of anykind (sp) will not be tolerated” and the Dallas police would be at the event.
WFAA reported that Dallas police were authorized to be at the event, but that the approval should not have happened. Officers working off duty left an hour before the shooting, Dallas police told WFAA.
Closer to the day of the event, organizers made more specific claims about security, according to the lawsuit. Another flier claimed there would be a total of 60 security personnel, everyone would have to enter through metal detectors, there would be no in and out privileges and that no bags would be allowed.
But there were no metal detectors, no controlled gates of exit or entry and no mechanical or physical screening for weapons or anything else that should have been prohibited, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit claims there was little to no security at the event after 11 p.m.
The lawsuit says the defendants were liable for the injuries of the 14-year-old girl because of “failures to properly plan, design, manage, operate, staff, secure, permit, and/or supervise the event was a direct and proximate cause” of the girl’s injuries.
“Defendants are thus liable to Plaintiffs and others for the devastating consequences of their negligent conduct,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit seeks monetary damages for physical pain and anguish in the past, present and future, physical impairment now and in the future and the cost of medical expenses, both already sustained and that will come in the future.
No arrests have been announced. Police are asking for anyone with information to call homicide Detective Christopher Anderson at 21-671-3613.
This story was originally published April 20, 2022 at 10:20 PM.