By now, many are aware of the tragic shooting that occurred in Las Vegas earlier this month that claimed nearly 6o lives and injured many more. Now that the dust is settling and investigations continue to unfold, some relatives of the victims are beginning to file wrongful death lawsuits against Mandalay Bay Casino and Resort and others. For example, the father of Andrea Castilla, a 28-year-old native of Huntington Beach that was one of the people tragically killed at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, has filed a “wrongful death lawsuit against the operators of the Mandalay Bay Casino and Resort, Live Nation and the manufacturer of bump stocks.”
By now, many are aware of the tragic shooting that occurred in Las Vegas earlier this month that claimed nearly 6o lives and injured many more. Now that the dust is settling and investigations continue to unfold, some relatives of the victims are beginning to file wrongful death lawsuits against Mandalay Bay Casino and Resort and others. For example, the father of Andrea Castilla, a 28-year-old native of Huntington Beach that was one of the people tragically killed at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, has filed a “wrongful death lawsuit against the operators of the Mandalay Bay Casino and Resort, Live Nation and the manufacturer of bump stocks.”
Andrea was attending the concert with her sister, boyfriend, and a friend on the day of the shooting, and was with them when the shots began firing. Unfortunately, she was struck down and in the midst of the chaos her sister, Athena Castilla, “recalls holding her bleeding head.” She said, “I just kept looking at her and kissing her and holding her hand and praying that she was going to make it…I miss being with her and we just had so many other memories and plans to have ahead of us.”
Understandably Andrea’s family was left reeling from their loss. Her father decided to take action and demand accountability by filing a “wrongful death lawsuit with the Los Angeles Superior Court,” claiming “MGM Resorts International, Live Nation and bump stock manufacturer Slide Fire are all responsible for Andrea’s death.” But what could the hotel or the other parties accused in the lawsuit have done to prevent Andrea’s death and all the other deaths and injuries that occurred? Well, according to the lawsuit, Mr. Castilla believes the “security at the hotel did not respond quickly enough to the shooter’s room” and claimed the “hotel breached their duty of reasonable care by failing to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition.”
Attorney Richard Bridgford agrees that the hotel didn’t do enough in terms of providing adequate security at the event. Bridgford is the attorney of Andrea’s family, and said the “poor security at the concert venue created a killing zone.” He added, “It’s inconceivable to me that the casino and the providers of the concert were unaware of the foreseeable harm that could occur.”
In addition to the hotel, the lawsuit also “names Slide Fire, a company that designs and manufactures bump stocks, which allow semi-automatic weapons to mimic automatic weapons.” Andrea’s father decided to name the bump stock company because the “shooter had several bump stocks on his arsenal of weapons in the room.”
So what, if anything, have the parties said about the accusations? For starters, MGM Resorts International issued the following statement:
“The tragic incident that took place on October 1st was a meticulously planned, evil senseless act. As our company and city work through the healing process, our primary focus and concern is taking actions to support the victims and their families, our guests and employees and cooperating with law enforcement. We are grateful for all who came to the victims’ aid that evening, including our employees, first responders, the police and citizens who acted in countless ways to assist. Out of respect for the victims, we are not going to try this case in the public domain and we will give our response through the appropriate legal channels.”
Additionally, Live Nation also issued a statement of its own:
“We continue to be devastated by the tragedy at the Route 91 Festival, heartbroken for the victims, their families and the countless people forever impacted by this senseless act of violence and are cooperating fully with the active FBI investigation. We are, however, unable to comment specifically on pending litigation.”
Slide Fire has yet to comment.
Sources:
Father of Las Vegas shooting victim files wrongful death lawsuit
Orange County father of Las Vegas mass shooting victim files wrongful death lawsuit
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