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Third Suit Filed in Connection With Shooting After Meek Mill Concert
https://www.facebook.com/OakdaleTheatre/photos – Toyota Oakdale Theatre
A third lawsuit has been filed relating to a 2016 shooting outside of a Meek Mill concert in Wallingford, Conn., that killed two men and wounded two others.
An attorney representing Dylan Thomas, who was shot Dec. 30, 2016, outside of the Toyota Oakdale Theatre following a Meek Mill show, filed suit against the venue Jan. 17, alleging the theatre was negligent in preventing the shooting.
Thomas suffered a gunshot wound in his right leg, according to the Record-Journal. Travis Ward and Jacquan Graves, both from New Haven, Conn., were killed. Nathan Mitchell of Hartford, Conn., was also wounded.
Attorneys representing the families of Ward and Mitchell filed a suit against the venue in May 2017. Graves’ family field a second lawsuit against the theatre in November.
The suit also alleges that the Oakdale Theatre did not “take reasonable measures to protect patrons” and “allowed thugs to remain on the premises, after exhibiting disorderly, disruptive, argumentative, angry and/or agitated behavior toward patrons.”
Police told the Record-Journal that the venue tried to hire extra duty officers before the concert began, but none were available on short notice.
The suit also names Meek Mill, whose real name is Robert Rihmeek, as a defendant. It argues that the rapper’s lyrics encouraged violence.
The suit points to past violent incidents that have taken place at Meek Mill concerts, such as when four were shot at one of the rapper’s concerts in Wilmington, Del., in 2013. Another four people were arrested for disorderly conduct and two were wounded at a 2011 Meek Mill show in Danbury, Conn.
Live Nation, which owns the venue, and Meek Mill’s management, Roc Nation, were also named as defendants in the suit. Neither responded to Pollstar’s requests for comment at press time.
In November, Meek Mill was sentenced to two to four years in prison for violating probation on a 2008 drug and gun case.
The rapper played a handful of festivals in 2017, in addition to a couple headlining dates, though the only show reported to Pollstar’s box office was a Feb. 10 concert at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The concert sold 11,106 tickets and grossed $608,164.