Paralyzed man files lawsuit against Lemoyne-Owen College and security firm for inadequate security
MEMPHIS, Tenn. Sept 5 2017 – As Brian “Chris” Fuller adjusts to life in a wheelchair, he’s balancing anger that’s he’s paralyzed with gratitude that he’s alive.
“I’m blessed that I’m still here,” Fuller said, as his 2-year-old son played in the front yard of his North Memphis Home. “But I can’t sit here and act like I’m not mad about it. I’m angry every day.”
Doctors told Fuller there’s only a 20 percent chance that he’ll walk again, the 21-year-old told FOX13 Monday.
“I got my son right here, but I can’t get up and run with him,” Fuller added.
Fuller lifted his tank top and revealed scars on his torso and his side from surgeries that followed the shooting.
A gunman shot him in the parking lot behind a dorm at Lemoyne-Owen College in September 2016, according to MPD. Fuller said the gunman shot him during an attempted robbery and hasn’t been arrested.
The 21-year-old shooting victim said Lemoyne-Owen College and its security company failed to provide “adequate security” the night he nearly died in the gated parking lot.
Fuller filed a lawsuit in Shelby County Circuit Court last week, which names Lemoyne-Owen College, Security One, Inc., and the campus security guard as defendants.
A spokesperson for Lemoyne-Owen College said he can’t comment on the pending litigation, but added that safety of students and people on campus is “paramount” to school officials.
Fuller described how the shooting changed him, and how it’s changed the way he’s raising his young son.
“I lost a whole lot of friends, a whole lot of people I thought cared about me,” Fuller said. “Then you get in this chair, you find out who’s really there for you.”
“I’m just going to take care of me, my son and my family,” Fuller added, as he talked about his plans to go back to college and study music. “I’m moving out of Memphis, though.”
Fuller expressed disappointment with the way Memphis Police have handled his case.
“I’m not saying I haven’t done some stuff,” Fuller said, then pointed toward his paralyzed lower half.. “We all got a past, but nobody deserves this.”
He asked police to see video footage from surveillance cameras in the parking lot, but he said police told him the cameras weren’t working.
Memphis Police did not respond to FOX13’s request for an update on Fuller’s case.
Fuller said he didn’t recognize his attacker. With tears in his eyes, the 21-year-old said he’s praying for the young man who shot him.
“I actually pray for the person who shot me, because I know how it is out there,” Fuller said.
Pausing between words to take breaths during the emotional interview, Fuller added, “I’ve been trying to tell my friends these streets ain’t nothing.”
In the lawsuit, Fuller asks to be compensated an amount determined during a trial by jury in civil court.
FOX12
