One of three men shot during the filming of a music video for Atlanta rapper Lil Baby at a northwest Atlanta shopping complex has sued the production, security and property companies involved.
Kevin Mares filed a negligent security lawsuit Friday in the Fulton County State Court, claiming he was shot in the neck while working on the music video shoot on May 14. He wants more than $680,000 for medical expenses as well as compensation for his pain and suffering, lost earnings and mental anguish.
“Defendants negligently failed to maintain adequate security devices and personnel to permit proper use of the property, thereby causing an unreasonable risk of injury to invitees, including Kevin Mares,” the lawsuit states. “Defendants’ negligence includes their failure to provide any security personnel at the property at the time of the subject shooting.”
Mares said Lil Baby was in no way responsible for security during his music video production.
The shooting happened just before 5 p.m. at a small retail center on Verbena Street called The Plaza at Dixie Hills. It includes a grocery store, restaurant, barbershop and launderette. Mares and two other men in their 20s were shot by two unknown perpetrators who got into a dispute, according to an incident report.
Atlanta police said Mares transported himself to Grady Memorial Hospital. The other victims, shot in the arm and the back, were transported to the hospital by Grady personnel.
A spokesperson for the Atlanta Police Department said Monday that the shooting is still being investigated.
Mares has a website featuring images of Lil Baby, whose real name is Dominique Jones. Mares sued the plaza owner, Bristol Consulting Group, as well as the companies behind the music video production, New York-based Shotclock and Atlanta-based Quality Control Music.
A representative for Bristol Consulting declined to comment on the case. Representatives for Shotclock and Quality Control did not immediately respond to questions.
Mares also sued the security companies Cannon Executive Protection Agency and Tactical Elite Protection Services. Representatives for those companies did not immediately comment.
Mares claims Shotclock and Quality Control were supposed to hire “well trained, capitalized and insured professional security,” but instead hired Cannon Executive, which subcontracted to Tactical Elite “without proper, written or even verbal approval as required.”
The security companies did not maintain adequate training, staffing or insurance, Mares alleged. He said none of the defendant companies had adequate liability insurance, and that they should have known about significant violent crime in the area and the security needs associated with a popular artist.
“Defendants owed a duty to invitees like Kevin Mares to exercise ordinary care in keeping the premises and approaches safe from criminal activity, and negligently breached that duty,” the complaint states. “Defendants are liable for the assault, battery, and shooting of Kevin Mares.”
Mares’ attorneys, Peter Law, Michael Moran and Denise Hoying, did not immediately respond to questions about the case.
In a similar incident in June 2020, gunfire erupted during a music video shoot for Atlanta rapper YFN Lucci. That incident, in which a 15-year-old boy was injured, happened near an apartment complex on Martin Street, about five miles from the Verbena Street plaza.
