Takeoff murder: Quavo assistant shot during incident files lawsuit against 810 Billiards in Houston
HOUSTON - Attorneys representing Joshua Washington, one of the individuals wounded in the November shooting that claimed the life of Grammy-nominated rapper Takeoff, have filed a lawsuit against 810 Houston, its owners, and property managers. The lawsuit alleges that the venue and its organizers failed to provide sufficient security, screening measures, or emergency assistance both before and after the tragic shooting that resulted in the death of Takeoff and injuries to three others, including Washington.
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Washington's legal representation includes civil rights attorney Bakari Sellers from the Strom Law Firm and Audia Jones from the Law Office of Audia Jones.
"810 Houston was warned that they needed extra security. They knew it was a hotspot for violent crime and that an after-hours event like this could turn deadly in a second. But they ignored those warnings and now they have blood on their hands," stated Sellers. "This shooting was a tragedy. But it was a preventable tragedy."
According to the lawsuit, defendants 810 Houston, LVA4 Houston Greenstreet, Lionstone Partners, Midway Companies Llc, and Cushman & Wakefeld Of Texas failed to implement even basic security precautions, despite assuring attendees that such measures were in place. This alleged negligence left victims like Joshua Washington vulnerable and without support when the shooting occurred.
"They had no properly trained security personnel, adequate signage, lighting, or cameras. They had no screening to keep out weapons. They didn't even have a working metal detector," explained Jones. "This was a powder keg of their own making, and individuals like Takeoff and Joshua Washington got caught in the explosion."
Joshua Washington, who was serving as a personal assistant to Takeoff's uncle and bandmate Quavo at the time of the incident, recounted that the promised security measures were conspicuously absent once gunfire erupted.
"There was no one," Washington recalled. "The bullets started flying and no one came to help. There were no security guards trying to stop the shooting, no one to help those of us who were hurt, no one at all. They just left us there to die."
Washington, who was an innocent bystander, sustained gunshot wounds to his right side, narrowly missing his colon. He currently resides in Georgia.
For further details about the lawsuit, including its contents. You can access the document by clicking HERE.