Family of teen shot and killed at Fayette Mall in Lexington files suit

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The family of a teenager shot and killed inside a Lexington, Kentucky, mall last year is now suing.

Kenneth Bottoms Jr., 17, was killed in the shooting last August at the Fayette Mall that injured two other people: a 41-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl.

His estate just filed a lawsuit against the owners of the Fayette Mall and the suspected shooter, Xavier Hardin, who was charged with murder days after the shooting. Two teens, Nasir Lyons and Cion Townsend, were charged with tapering with physical evidence in connection with the shooting.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Fayette Circuit Court, claims the mall's owners, CBL Properties, failed to manage, control, secure and inspect the premises. CBL & Associates Limited Partnership and CBL & Associates Management are both named in the lawsuit, according to a report by Lex 18.

The lawsuit is seeking punitive damages to be paid by each defendant.

Witnesses told police at the time that a group of four or five guys were fighting at the mall when one pulled out a gun and started shooting. The two other victims who were injured were not believed to have been involved in the altercation prior to the shooting. Investigators said at the time that they believed Bottoms and the suspects knew each other.

The shooting prompted the mall to implement a new "Youth Escort Policy" that anyone visiting the mall under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or a guardian on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Those without a parent or guardian would be asked to leave the premises.

Related Stories: