Violent attack and fatal shooting outside Shawnee Walmart in 2016 leads to lawsuit

Two people injured in a violent incident in the parking lot outside of a Shawnee Walmart in 2016 have filed a lawsuit against the company.

The suit, filed in Johnson County District Court, alleges that Walmart was negligent in not providing adequate security in and around the store at 16100 West 65th Street.

Marisa Danenberg-Jones, of Kansas City, Kan., was attacked and beaten by two men in the store’s parking lot on Sept. 11, 2016.

Joshua Owen, of Kansas City, came to her aid and was shot in the face, shoulder and arm by one of the assailants.

That assailant was then fatally shot by another man. The second suspect was arrested and is now serving a prison sentence after pleading guilty to a number of charges.

According to the suit filed on behalf of Owen and Danenberg-Jones, what happened that day should have been foreseen by Walmart because of past criminal incidents on the property.

Shawnee police had been called to the store more than 600 times in the eight months preceding the incident, according to the suit.

Six of those calls involved batteries or assaults, the suit alleges, and five involved burglaries or robberies.

Knowing of those criminal incidents, Walmart had a duty “to take reasonable steps to prevent the foreseeable criminal acts of third parties and warn of known dangers,” the suit alleges.

The suit does not specify the amount in damages being sought.

Walmart released a brief statement about the suit:

“The safety and security of our customers and associates is always a top priority We take this seriously and will respond appropriately with the court.”

This story was originally published September 12, 2018 at 11:20 AM.