On Wednesday afternoon in the parking lot of Bob and Cheryl’s Restaurant, located in the 3500 block of Shenandoah Avenue, a physical fight turned into a shooting. The Roanoke Times, claims that the fight broke out between two men over a traffic situation in the parking lot. As the quarrel escalated, it led to 3 men against 1 man.
Shortly after this guns were drawn and shots were fired. During the shooting 3 people were injured and later hospitalized for their wounds. The restaurant was filled with customers, including young children, who had to take cover in the rear bathroom.
Attorney contributor and gun crime lawyer Kevin Biniazan specializes in representing victims of preventable violent crime, including parking lot shootings and stabbings.
“It is the legal duty of commercial property owners to keep their patrons safe from any foreseeable violent crime. Therefore, restaurant and parking lot owners must provide a reasonable standard of security in order to prevent hazardous incidents from occurring”, said Mr. Biniazan.
“However, some restaurant owners may provide inadequate security for their customers, failing to maintain their legal duty. Generally speaking, if a commercial property has negligent security, then the owner may be held accountable for any criminal violence that happens on their property. For instance, if a restaurant that has a history of criminal violence provides inadequate security, and a shooting or stabbing occurs because of the negligent security, then the owner may be partially liable for the crime that took place”, explained Mr. Biniazan.