Families affected by gun violence at a Miami Gardens apartment complex sue the owners
Robin Gore should have been celebrating her son Taborez White’s 21st birthday on Wednesday. Instead, she is still grieving his loss after he was shot and killed last summer outside their Miami Gardens apartment complex.
READ MORE: She had lived in her Miami Gardens apartment for 20 years. Then her son was shot to death
Now, Gore and other families affected by gun violence at the Cedar Grove Apartment Complex are taking legal action. They have filed negligent security lawsuits against Cedar Grove Apartments, which operates under Fairfield Cedar Grove LP based in San Diego, accusing the property of failing to provide adequate security.
“Was it too much to ask at this property to bring in off-duty law enforcement officers just to make sure that they can get the crime rate under control of the property?” said attorney Joshua Padron, who represents the families.
The lawsuits highlight a pattern of gun violence at the complex. The complex did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Miami Herald.
Six months before White’s death on Jan. 4 2023, Marcia and Edward Dixon lost their 27-year-old son Edwin, who was also shot and killed at the same complex while he was visiting a friend. In December, a 19-year-old resident was seriously injured in yet another shooting on the property.
The families argue that despite the area’s high crime rate, no proper security measures were in place before these incidents. Even after multiple shootings, they say, Cedar Grove Apartments made no improvements to security.
“It is part of their legal and frankly, moral duty when they’re operating property to make sure that it’s operating safely,” said the families’ attorney, Todd Michaels. “That tenants, that guests aren’t being shot and killed, their families aren’t undergoing this type of loss in their property.”
The Dixon family filed their lawsuit in March 2023, Gore filed hers in October 2023, and the most recent suit, filed in August 2023, is on behalf of the 19-year-old shooting victim, who has chosen to remain anonymous.
Gore and the Dixons are seeking $50,000 in damages under the Florida Wrongful Death Act.
“Edwin was in the prime of his life when he was ripped from this earth,” said Marcia Dixon, Edwin’s mother, as she cried Wednesday while her husband stood beside her carrying Edwin’s picture.
All three shootings are under active investigation and Gore and the Dixons have little to no answers as to who shot their sons.
But they hope that sharing their stories will help generate leads for the police.
“We must come, come together as a community, united by a common purpose....take meaningful steps to prevent this tragic incident from happening again, and ensure the safety of this community,” said Gore as she held her daughter Jaquandra White’s hand.
This story was originally published October 23, 2024 at 3:20 PM.