Story by Ashley Traylor, Editor-in-Chief and Gage Johnson, Senior Sports Writer
One day before the one year mark of the Marshall County High School shooting, four victims’ families took legal action against the school district, claiming administration failed to recognize Gabe Parker as a threat and failed to have proper security measures.
The families of Bailey Holt, Gage Smock, Mary Bella James and Dalton Keeling filed a 16-page lawsuit Tuesday in Marshall County Circuit Court targeting five school board members, Superintendent Trent Lovett, Principal Amy Waggoner, four assistant principals, a counselor, and Director of Security and School Resource Officer Ray Chumbler. Aside from school district officials, the suit was also filed against Parker’s stepfather and mother. There are 18 defendants in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states the defendants “knew or should have known of Gabriel Parker’s dangerous propensities and failed to take any action to monitor, report, intervene, or prevent the actions of DEFENDANT Parker, and further failed to comply with statutes and regulations related to school safety, which said actions and inactions resulted in the shooting of January 23, 2018.”
Bailey Holt and Preston Cope died in the shooting, and 14 others were injured, including Smock, James and Keeling. Cope’s parents are not involved in the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, Marshall County’s school district and administration officials had a duty to protect and care for the students of Marshall County High School, and they failed to do so, when Parker entered the school and began shooting.
“There were no impediments to entering the common area nor security measures in place to prevent entering the area with a loaded weapon. No security personnel nor systems were present, allowing Defendant Parker.”
The lawsuit goes on to explain Marshall County failed to have an Emergency plan in place, failed to effectively train employees to execute an emergency plan and failed identify warning signs of school violence. As a result of the school’s negligence, according to the suit, it resulted in the shooting, the death of Holt and Cope, and the injuries of Smock, James and Keeling and many more.
The lawsuit was also filed against Justin Minyard, Parker’s stepfather and Mary Garrison Minyard, his mother.
The lawsuit explains Parker’s parents were negligent in maintaining and securing the firearm Parker used to execute the shooting. Parker found his stepfather’s Ruger .22 pistol in his stepfather’s closet, and he was able to transfer it from the closet to his bookbag, without his parents’ knowledge.
According to the lawsuit, Justin and Mary negligently placed the firearm in an “unsecured location” and “entrusted him with the firearm,” resulting in the shooting and the harm of the victims and their families.
The complaint states Parker’s parents “knew or should have know of Defendant Parker’s dangerous propensities, yet negligently allowed a loaded weapon to be kept unsecured in a location which Parker was aware, and such negligence was gross and reckless.”
Since the shooting on Jan. 23, 2018, Parker has pleaded not guilty. The trial date has not yet been set but when it is, he will be prosecuted as an adult on two counts of murder and 14 counts of aggravated assault.
The News will update this story as more information becomes available.