Holding Dangerous Apartment Complexes Accountable

Violence where someone lives is one of the most traumatic events a family can experience. When a shooting or stabbing happens at an apartment complex, most people ask the same questions: Why did this happen here? Could it have been prevented? Who is responsible for the security failures that allowed this to occur?

At Clark Fountain, the focus is on answering those questions and pursuing justice for victims of apartment shootings and stabbings throughout Florida. These cases are not just criminal matters. They are also civil negligent security cases that can hold property owners, management companies, and security contractors financially accountable for preventable harm.

What Is a Negligent Security Apartment Case?

Negligent security is a type of premises liability claim. In plain terms, it means a property owner failed to take reasonable steps to keep people on the property safe from foreseeable criminal attacks.

In the apartment context, negligent security claims often arise after:

• Shootings in parking lots, breezeways, stairwells, courtyards, or near common areas
• Stabbings between tenants or visitors inside units or in shared spaces
• Armed robberies or assaults in poorly lit or poorly monitored areas
• Domestic or neighbor disputes that escalate because management ignored warning signs

Florida law does not expect a landlord to stop every crime. It does, however, require landlords and management companies to take reasonable precautions when they know, or should know, that their property is in a high‑risk area or has a history of crime.

When they cut corners on security, ignore prior incidents, or treat safety as an afterthought, and someone is shot or stabbed as a result, that failure can form the basis for a negligent security lawsuit against:

• The apartment owner
• The property management company
• A security guard company
• Other businesses involved in running or securing the complex

These cases are about more than compensation. They are about forcing change at properties that have become magnets for violence and giving families the resources to rebuild their lives.

Common Security Failures in Florida Apartment Shooting and Stabbing Cases

Every property is different, but the same patterns appear again and again in serious apartment violence cases. Examples of negligent security that frequently surface in Florida litigation include:

Inadequate lighting

Dark parking lots, walkways, stairwells, and entry points give attackers cover and make it difficult for cameras or witnesses to see what is happening. Well‑placed, working lighting can deter crime and help residents feel safer moving to and from their units at night.

Broken or missing gates and fences

Vehicle and pedestrian gates that are constantly broken, left open, or never installed at all allow anyone to drive or walk into the complex. In high‑crime areas, this “open access” environment can be a direct link to shootings and armed robberies.

Non‑functioning or nonexistent security cameras

Cameras that are broken, always offline, or pointed away from key areas are a major red flag. Working cameras at entrances, parking areas, elevators, and common spaces both deter criminals and create critical evidence when an attack occurs.

Lack of security guards or ineffective guard coverage

Some properties with known crime problems still have no guards on site. Others cut corners by using poorly trained, low‑paid guards with little real supervision. In many cases, guards sit in the office instead of patrolling, or they ignore trespassers and ongoing problems. When a complex chooses to advertise “security,” the law expects that program to function in practice, not just on paper.

Broken locks and unsecured doors or windows

Unit doors without proper deadbolts, common area doors that do not latch, and windows that do not lock make it easy for intruders to access apartments. When tenants repeatedly complain about these issues and management fails to fix them promptly, that history can become powerful evidence of negligence.

Failure to conduct proper employee background checks

Under Miya’s Law, Florida apartments must run national criminal background checks on employees who have access to units and master keys. When a worker with a violent history is hired anyway, or not screened at all, and later uses their access to harm a resident, that scenario fits squarely within negligent security.

Failure to respond to prior crime and complaints

Many complexes have a long history of 911 calls, robberies, assaults, or gunfire. Tenants file complaints about trespassers, open gates, drug activity, harassment, stalking, or domestic violence. When this kind of pattern is ignored and no meaningful security upgrades are made, serious violent crimes become “foreseeable” in the eyes of the law.

Poor access control and guest management

Propped‑open doors, broken intercoms, uncontrolled key fobs, and no visitor screening mean anyone can walk in and roam hallways. In many shooting and stabbing cases, attackers exploit these exact weaknesses to reach their victims.

Negligent hiring, training, or supervision of security staff

When a property chooses to have guards or “courtesy officers,” the law expects those programs to be real. Guards who are untrained, asleep, distracted on their phones, or not following post orders create serious risk. A “security presence” that exists only for appearances can be just as dangerous as having no security at all.

Failure to adopt modern safety measures in known high‑risk areas

In 2025 and 2026, more Florida properties are adding AI‑assisted cameras, remote monitoring, and gunshot detection. At higher‑risk complexes, the industry standard is shifting toward active monitoring rather than simply recording. When a property sits in a high‑crime grid and still relies on a few outdated, unreliable cameras, that gap can become a central issue in litigation.

A strong apartment shootings and stabbings case ties these specific security failures to the attacker’s path, the property’s crime history, and the harm suffered by the victim or family.

Florida Law, Miya’s Law, and Tort Reform: What Victims Should Know

Florida’s negligent security landscape has changed quickly in recent years. Several legal developments now matter in almost every apartment violence case.

Miya’s Law: Protecting tenants from insider threats

Miya’s Law was passed after the murder of college student Miya Marcano by a maintenance worker who used a key fob to enter her unit. For Florida apartment communities, Miya’s Law requires:

• National criminal background checks for employees with unit access
• Detailed key logs showing who checked out and returned keys or key fobs
• Keeping those key logs for at least two years
• At least 24 hours’ written notice before non‑emergency entries into a unit

If a shooting or stabbing involves an employee, a master key, or unauthorized entry into a unit, careful review of Miya’s Law compliance is essential. Missing or sloppy key logs, or failure to screen an employee with a violent record, can significantly strengthen a negligence claim.

HB 837 and the “presumption against liability”

In 2023, Florida’s tort reform law, HB 837, tried to give apartment owners a “rebuttable presumption” that they were not liable for some third‑party criminal attacks if they met certain security requirements, including:

• Dusk‑to‑dawn lighting in common areas and parking lots
• Security cameras at each entrance and exit
• At least 30 days of stored video footage
• One‑inch deadbolts on unit doors

On paper, a property that is in “substantial compliance” with this checklist starts with an advantage. But that presumption can be challenged. Newer legislative efforts, such as proposed HB 1423, aim to remove or limit that protection for properties with repeated violent crimes or clear warning signs.

For victims, this means a skilled law firm must be prepared to:

• Show that the property did not truly comply with the statutory requirements, or
• Prove that, even if the checklist was technically met, management ignored serious, ongoing danger that required more robust security for that particular location

Florida law is moving away from treating security as a simple checklist. Courts are increasingly interested in whether the property’s safety measures were effective given its crime history and neighborhood.

Shorter deadlines to file (statute of limitations)

Most negligence‑based claims in Florida, including negligent security, now have a two‑year statute of limitations from the date of injury or death. That is half the time that used to be available for many of these cases.

In practice, this means:

• Families and victims must move quickly to protect their rights
• Evidence such as camera footage, access logs, and digital records must be preserved before they are overwritten or deleted
• Waiting to “see what happens” in the criminal case can risk missing deadlines or losing key proof

Speaking with an experienced apartment violence lawyer as soon as possible helps ensure nothing important is lost and the claim is filed on time.

How an Apartment Shootings and Stabbings Lawyer Builds a Strong Case

Apartment shooting and stabbing cases are evidence‑heavy and fact‑intensive. A serious firm approaches them as full forensic investigations, not just paperwork. Core steps typically include:

1. Preserving critical evidence

• Sending urgent preservation letters to the owner, management company, and security vendors
• Demanding that all video, access control logs, guard patrol logs, maintenance records, and incident reports be preserved
• Following up to confirm those materials are not deleted, overwritten, or “lost”

The first days and weeks after an incident are often the only chance to secure video and digital data that will later show exactly how the attacker got in and what management knew.

2. Conducting a detailed site inspection

• Visiting the scene in person
• Photographing lighting, camera placement, fencing, gates, and locks
• Mapping sightlines, blind spots, and the attacker’s likely route
• Documenting conditions at the same time of day the crime occurred

These inspections make it possible to explain, in concrete terms, how the environment either discouraged or invited a violent attack.

3. Analyzing crime history and foreseeability

• Pulling years of 911 call logs and police incident reports for the property
• Reviewing crime “grids” and patterns in the surrounding neighborhood
• Comparing the property’s security measures with those used at similar complexes in comparable crime zones

The goal is to show that serious violence was not a random event, but a foreseeable escalation at a property with known problems.

4. Reviewing management and maintenance records

Through subpoenas and formal discovery, a negligence case may seek:

• Maintenance work orders for lights, cameras, gates, and locks
• Internal emails about security budgets, staffing, and tenant complaints
• Prior incident reports and internal notes about crime or safety issues

Evidence that owners or managers knew about broken gates, repeated break‑ins, threats, or ongoing violence and chose not to act can be extremely persuasive to a jury.

5. Interviewing witnesses and canvassing tenants

• Speaking with current and former tenants about prior incidents and unaddressed complaints
• Interviewing neighbors and nearby businesses that have observed crime patterns around the complex
• Talking with responding officers and paramedics about what they saw when they arrived on scene

These accounts help paint a clear picture of what living at the property was really like, beyond marketing claims and lease language.

6. Working with qualified experts

In serious apartment violence cases, experienced firms often collaborate with:

• Security and premises liability experts
• Forensic criminologists who analyze crime patterns and foreseeability
• Engineers who evaluate lighting levels, camera coverage, and physical security hardware
• Medical, psychological, and economic experts who quantify physical, emotional, and financial losses

These experts connect the dots between poor security decisions, the crime itself, and the full impact on the victim and family.

Who Can Bring an Apartment Shooting or Stabbing Claim?

Potential clients in these cases may include:

• Tenants who were shot or stabbed on the property
• Guests or visitors injured while lawfully on the property
• Family members bringing a wrongful death claim after a loved one is killed
• In some situations, people injured just outside the complex if security failures contributed to the incident

Even if the attacker has been arrested or is facing criminal charges, the civil claim is separate. The civil case focuses on whether the property and those responsible for security did enough to protect residents and guests from foreseeable criminal acts.

Potential Defendants in an Apartment Shooting or Stabbing Case

One of the most important parts of a Florida apartment shooting or stabbing case is identifying every party that may share responsibility for the security failures. Depending on the facts, a negligent security claim can involve multiple defendants, including:

• Apartment owner or property owner
  The legal owner of the apartment complex is usually the primary defendant. Owners are responsible for funding security measures, setting policies, hiring management, and deciding how much to invest in safety. When cost‑cutting decisions lead to inadequate lighting, broken gates, or too few guards, the owner can be held liable for the consequences.

• Property management company
  Many complexes are run by third‑party management firms. These companies handle day‑to‑day operations: responding to tenant complaints, arranging repairs, hiring and supervising staff, and enforcing safety policies. If management ignored repeated reports of crime, failed to fix broken locks, or did not act on clear warning signs, they can be named as separate defendants.

• Security guard company or security contractor
  When a property hires a private security company, that company can share liability if its guards were poorly trained, improperly supervised, or failed to follow basic protocols. Examples include guards who did not patrol as required, allowed trespassers to remain on site, or ignored escalating confrontations that later turned into shootings or stabbings.

• Individual security guards or on‑site safety staff
  In some cases, individual guards or “courtesy officers” may also be named when their personal conduct falls far below reasonable standards. This can include sleeping on duty, abandoning a post, letting known troublemakers in, or failing to call police during a clear emergency. Their actions are often tied back to the security company and the property owner through negligent hiring, training, or supervision.

• Maintenance and on‑site employees
  If a maintenance worker, porter, or other employee used their access to harm a resident, they may be named individually, particularly in cases involving Miya’s Law violations. But even when an employee is the attacker, the focus in a civil case often remains on the employer that failed to screen, monitor, or control that person’s access to master keys and units.

• Parent companies, holding companies, and related entities
  Many apartment complexes are owned through layered corporate structures. A careful review of corporate records may reveal parent companies, asset‑holding entities, and related businesses that share control over the property, budgets, and security policies. Including these entities can be critical for reaching all available insurance coverage and financial resources.

• Developers, builders, or design professionals (in limited cases)
  In rare situations, the way a complex was originally designed or built contributes directly to security failures: blind stairwells, hidden alcoves, blocked sightlines, or poorly planned access points. When design choices create a chronically unsafe environment, developers or design professionals may be brought into the case, especially if the property was marketed as “secure” despite serious layout flaws.

• Third‑party vendors involved in access control or technology
  Some properties rely on outside companies for gate systems, key‑fob or smart‑lock systems, surveillance platforms, or remote monitoring. If a critical system was known to be malfunctioning, repeatedly reported, and never corrected, a claim may extend to the vendor that installed or maintained that technology, alongside the owner who allowed the problem to continue.

• Homeowners’ associations or condominium associations
  When the incident occurs in a mixed‑use or condo setting, a homeowners’ or condominium association may share responsibility for common‑area security. These associations make decisions about gates, cameras, lighting, and guard services, and can be named if they failed to approve reasonable safety measures in the face of known risk.

In many apartment shooting and stabbing cases, the strongest results come from “mapping” all of these players early, then building a claim that reflects how each one contributed to the same security breakdown. This approach helps ensure that no responsible party is overlooked and that injured residents and families have access to the full scope of insurance and assets available to cover their losses.

What Types of Compensation May Be Available?

Every case is unique, but damages in apartment shooting and stabbing cases can include:

• Past and future medical expenses, including hospital care, surgery, rehabilitation, and therapy
• Lost income and reduced ability to work in the future
• Pain and suffering, emotional distress, and post‑traumatic stress disorder
• Loss of enjoyment of life and long‑term disabilities
• Funeral and burial expenses in wrongful death cases
• Loss of companionship, guidance, and support for spouses, children, and parents

In the most serious incidents, especially those involving death or life‑changing injury, total recoveries can reach high six‑figure or seven‑figure amounts, depending on insurance coverage, the number of liable parties, and the strength of the evidence. A well‑documented history of security failures and prior violent incidents generally increases the value of a claim.

Why Florida Apartment Violence Cases Are Different Now

Between Miya’s Law and Florida’s recent tort reform, apartment negligence cases today look very different from those just a few years ago. Owners and insurers often argue:

• “We met the security checklist, so we are protected.”
• “The criminal alone is to blame.”
• “There was no way to predict this particular attack.”

Overcoming those arguments requires a law firm that understands the new statutory landscape, knows what to request in discovery, and can clearly explain to a judge or jury how a supposedly “compliant” property still became a hotspot for violence.

For victims and families, the stakes are high. These cases are complex, but a carefully built negligent security claim can:

• Provide financial security after a devastating injury or loss
• Force meaningful safety upgrades at dangerous properties
• Send a clear message that cutting corners on security has real consequences

Talk to a Florida Apartment Shootings and Stabbings Lawyer

If you or someone you love was shot or stabbed at a Florida apartment complex, you do not have to figure out your options alone, and you should not wait. The two‑year deadline, fast‑erasing digital evidence, and shifting legal standards make early action critical.

Clark Fountain handles complex negligent security cases arising from apartment shootings and stabbings across Florida’s major metropolitan areas and beyond. The firm’s approach combines:

• Deep knowledge of Florida’s evolving premises liability and negligent security laws
• Hands‑on investigation and rigorous evidence preservation
• Strategic use of security, forensic, and medical experts
• Relentless advocacy aimed at full accountability and maximum compensation

A confidential consultation can help you understand whether the apartment’s security failures played a role in what happened, what your rights are under current Florida law, and what the next steps should be to protect your family and your future.