Takeoff’s mother is filing a negligence lawsuit against the venue where the Migos rapper was killed in November.
The rapper, born Kirsnick Khari Ball, was fatally shot after a private bowling alley party in Houston Nov. 1. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences ruled his death a homicide and the next day listed the rapper’s primary cause of death as “penetrating gunshot wounds of head and torso into the arm.”
At the time, a police spokesperson said security guards who were in the area heard the shooting but did not see who fired the weapons. Now Takeoff’s mother, Titania Davenport, is filing a lawsuit against the bowling alley seeking more than $1 million in relief, alleging property owners neglected to “provide proper and adequate security for the event.”
The petition, filed June 7 to Harris County’s District Court, alleges the rapper was “an innocent bystander” who was struck by stray bullets after an argument broke out on the balcony of Houston’s 810 Billiards & Bowling.
“Defendants breached their duty owed to Kirsnick Khari Tiquon Ball by failing to exercise ordinary care to keep the premises safe,” the petition obtained by USA TODAY reads.
Davenport’s lawyers point to a “history of violent criminal activity” around the property located in a “high-crime” area as further reason for the venue owners to have protected the premises, calling the Takeoff’s death a result of “conscious disregard.”
Takeoff’s mother, who is the administrator of her son’s estate, is seeking a trial by jury for damages including personal injury, wrongful death, funeral expenses and mental anguish.
Born June 18, 1994, in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Takeoff grew up with his soon-to-be collaborators, Quavo and Offset. “I just always wanted to rap,” Takeoff recalled of their upbringing in a 2013 Fader interview. “When Quavo was out doing sports, I was in the studio, what we call the bando, making music, going hard.”
Police arrest, charge suspect in Takeoff shooting
In December, police arrested and charged Patrick Xavier Clark, 33, for Takeoff’s murder. He was released on a $1 million bond in January and was later indicted by a grand jury in May. Clark is expected to return to court in August.
Letitia Quinones-Hollins, one of Clark’s attorneys, said the indictment was not unexpected.
“When we get inside a courtroom and in front of a jury, where we will be able to put on our evidence and cross-examine the state’s witnesses … we expect the jury will come back with a verdict of not guilty,” Quinones-Hollins said in May.
ARREST MADE:Man charged of killing Takeoff ‘believes he’s innocent,’ lawyer says
Contributing: Edward Segarra, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
