The parents of a 21-year-old Albany State University student fatally shot at the now shuttered Elleven45 nightclub in Buckhead have sued its owners and managers, who already face a lawsuit from the city of Atlanta.
Juan Umberto Creighton and Tracey Eason filed a complaint Tuesday in the Fulton County State Court seeking unspecified damages over the May 12 death of their daughter, Mariam “Mari” Creighton. Their claims include negligence and wrongful death.
Mari Creighton, a standout volleyball player, and 20-year-old Nakyris Ridley were fatally shot at around 2:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning inside the Peachtree Road establishment.
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
Atlanta police said a fight erupted inside the club and escalated to gunfire. They confirmed the bullets were intended for Ridley. Mari Creighton and four others, who were also struck but survived, were bystanders.
Police have not provided any updates on their investigation since revealing days after the shooting that they had identified a suspect but that no arrests had been made.
Parker Miller, an attorney for Mari Creighton’s parents, said it is incomprehensible how an armed person was able to enter and cause “devastating harm,” given the history of violence on site. He said 911 calls to the property dating back to June 2020 reveal Atlanta police were called to the club for two other shootings, 35 fights and 38 noise concerns.
“Mari was everything you could hope for in a daughter, a student, a teammate, and a friend,” Miller said. “She and her family paid the ultimate price for this location’s choices, and we are honored to seek justice for them.”
Djibril Dafe, the club’s registered agent, did not immediately respond to questions about the shooting. Mari Creighton’s parents also brought civil claims against five companies allegedly responsible for the property.
In late May, the club announced its indefinite closure on Instagram. It said the May 12 shooting was a tragic incident that had “changed the way we view our safety protocols.” It said it had been “slandered by the Buckhead community and the media” despite having “steadfastly prioritized the safety and security of our patrons and staff.”
Credit: John Spink
Credit: John Spink
Key Lamberth, another attorney for Juan Umberto Creighton and Tracey Eason, said Wednesday that the case is “the poster child for why upholding Georgia’s laws is so important in keeping our community safe.”
“When establishments like this do not act as they should, then you can have devastating consequences like this,” she said. “Those involved must be held accountable.”
The city of Atlanta sued the club in late May, seeking to shut it down as a public nuisance. Attorneys in that case are due to appear before a Fulton County Superior Court judge Thursday for a hearing on the city’s bid to keep the club’s doors closed while the case is litigated.
Dafe and others sued by the city have yet to respond in court to the allegations against them.
Since 2020, Buckhead residents have petitioned the city to close the club as “irresponsibly owned.”
Mari Creighton, who played volleyball for the Golden Rams, was one semester away from graduating with a degree in biology. She was at Elleven45 with friends.
Miller said club security had taken pepper spray from a patron the night of the shooting but let the perpetrator take a gun inside. He said the club should be permanently closed.
Mari Creighton’s parents want justice for their daughter and to make the community safer, Miller said. He said the city’s lawsuit and demands by thousands of concerned residents to close the establishment speak volumes about its “host of problems.”
“This place has operated in an unsafe manner,” Miller told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It draws criminal activity into the community.”
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