Gucci Mane has been named in a wrongful death lawsuit after a 23-year-old woman was fatally shot nearly two months ago at South Carolina nightclub Lavish Lounge. Mane’s 1017 Records signee Foogiano, who was performing on stage during the incident, is also named in the documents.
The Associated Press reported the lawsuit was filed by the estate of victim Mykala Bell in Greenville County last week. Bell and Lavish’s security guards were both killed after being caught in crossfire, which erupted during the early hours of July 5. The lawsuit claims Mane was the event’s promoter, though it’s not clear if he was present at the time of the shooting. The documents also allege Foogiano and his entourage entered the premises with “deadly weapons” and weren’t properly searched upon arrival. Police charged Jarquez Kezavion Cooper in connection to the shooting, who is identified as Foogiano’s employee in the lawsuit.
Bell’s attorney Brian Mickelsen family told XXL that she was “a wonderful mother of two small children whose life was tragically cut short because of the negligence of the defendants in this matter. Property owners have a responsibility to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition, and had they implemented and enforced the most basic of security measures, Mykala Bell would be alive today and these two children would have their mother with them.”
Foogiano addressed Bell’s death the day following the incident in a video posted to social media where he gave his “condolences to the girl and her family.” “I ain’t going to blame myself for something that I didn’t cause, I never will,” Foogiano added. “But, I respect y’all’s opinions and how y’all feel. She lost her life for nothing. But I did not take her life. Foogiano ain’t shoot nobody.”
Gucci Mane is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.