PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A new civil lawsuit claims a private security guard was the one who shot and killed a teenager and wounded two others outside Mary’s Club in Portland on July 29.
Just after 9:30 p.m. that night, two people were shot near NW Couch Street and 5th Avenue.
One of the victims, Lauren Teyshawn Abbott, Jr., died later at a hospital. Abbott was 19.
A third victim went to a hospital on their own with what was described by officials as life-threatening injuries.
The civil lawsuit was filed by Kolby Ross, who claims to be one of the victims injured in the shooting.
Although police have not confirmed who fired the shots, the civil lawsuit claims the alleged shooter “works as a licensed professional security guard.”
Ross and his attorneys declined to appear on camera Sunday but provided this statement to KOIN 6 News:
“We’ve been retained by Mr. Ross to file a civil complaint on his behalf. By filing the complaint now, we’re able to use the court’s subpoena power to find out which corporate entities employed the killer on the night of the shooting. We’re asking anyone with information about the shooting to please come forward and provide us with a witness statement.”
Citing assault, battery and negligence, Ross and his attorneys want $5 million from that private security officer and 2 of his employers who are unnamed.
KOIN 6 News asked the Portland Police Bureau if they could confirm the details within this lawsuit. At this time, KOIN 6 News has not received a reply.
Also, police have not confirmed the identity of the shooter or if any arrests have been made.
Witnesses to the shooting
Earlier this week, KOIN 6 News spoke with Nicholas Blake and Chad Leisey, who were witnesses to the shooting.
Blake said he was listening to music “and I audibly heard a rapid succession of shots” as he walked down Burnside that night.
“By the time I pulled my headphones out and figured out what was going on, people were scattering and screaming and there was chaos. People were dashing across the streets,” Blake said.
“It didn’t sound like a regular semi-automatic weapon,” Leisey said. “It went off a lot faster. So I’d be really curious to see if he had some sort of trigger bump or something on that gun. And if that was the case, he needs to be in prison for that. That’s a federal crime.”
“There is no such thing as a good guy with a gun. It just doesn’t exist. The so-called good guys with guns is when innocent people get killed.”
— Chad Leisey, former firefighter
Leisey said he provided aid to one of those wounded.
“Then a massive crowd was coming towards us. A guy a few steps in front of us was one of the guys that got shot in the chest. Bent down to help the guy out, compressed it, stayed there to wait for the ambulance,” Leisey said. “His friend was, like, ‘No, we’re taking him to the hospital. We’ll get him to the hospital faster before the ambulance gets here.’”
When asked about his thoughts on the newly-filed lawsuit and the prospect the alleged shooter could be a security guard paid to protect, Leisey — a former firefighter said — “There is no such thing as a good guy with a gun. It just doesn’t exist. The so-called good guys with guns is when innocent people get killed.”