Mother of teen killed in Magnolia Mall parking lot files wrongful death lawsuit

FLORENCE, S.C. (WMBF) - A Pee Dee mother has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Magnolia Mall nearly a year after her son was killed in the mall’s parking lot.

On Feb. 18, 2024, 15-year-old Avery McDonald was killed in a “targeted” shooting, according to police. McDonald was allegedly approached by 18-year-old Javon Norman, and an unnamed 15-year-old when one of the suspects shot multiple rounds.

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McDonald was taken to an area hospital where he later died from his injuries.

Now, Julisa Eaddy, McDonald’s mother, has filed a lawsuit out of Marlboro County against Magnolia Mall, its parent company PREIT Associates, and security company Allied Universal Security Services.

The lawsuit claims during her son’s visit to the mall, there was no sign of mall security inside or outside the building and there were no security measures in place to prevent crime.

Eaddy’s lawsuit stated that while her son was walking through the mall he was stalked by a group of teens without any mall security intervention. The lawsuit claims the group of teens later followed her son and his friends out to his car where they attempted to rob him of the jewelry he bought inside when the shooting happened.

According to claims in the lawsuit, McDonald’s death was caused by a direct breach of duty the mall had to its patrons to keep them safe and secure.

The mall’s parent company PREIT is also listed as a defendant in the lawsuit.

The suit claims that due to PREIT’s financial hardships, having filed for bankruptcy twice in five years, they cut costs by reducing staffing including safety staff.

Additionally, the lawsuit lists Allied Universal as a defendant.

The lawsuit alleges that the security company “continuously had problems with hiring employees that have questionable backgrounds including employees with criminal records and little to no experience in security, having poorly trained and unprofessional security guards, inadequate oversight, issues with camera usage policies, unlicensed security guards being hired, malfunctioning security equipment, and a general lack of proper response to security concerns.”

According to the lawsuit, all the defendants created an environment at Magnolia Mall that allowed for heightened criminal activity.

The lawsuit lists 184 incidents that are considered violent crimes that happened at the mall since 2014.

“This number does not include the thousands of other incident reports involving delinquent conduct occurring on the premises of Magnolia Mall that the City of Florence Police Department has had to address and arrest individuals for over the years,” the lawsuit reads.

Months after McDonald’s death, the mall implemented a youth supervision policy that required anyone under 18 to be supervised by an adult to “provide a secure and family-friendly shopping environment.”

Eaddy is asking for actual, compensatory, and punitive damages.

WMBF News has reached out to the mall’s parent company for comment.

The full lawsuit can be read below.