Oakdale Theatre, Rapper Meek Mill Sued Over Fatal Shooting

WALLINGFORD, CT — A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of two men who were shot, including one fatally, in the parking lot of the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford after a concert by rapper Meek Mill last December. New Haven-based Faxon Law Group filed the lawsuit in Waterbury Superior Court on Tuesday, claiming that the show’s organizers and promoters didn’t take “appropriate measures to protect concert-goers from harm.”

The shooting occurred on Dec. 30 after Mill had performed and killed two people while injuring two others. The two victims killed in the shooting were identified as Travis Ward, 31, and Jacquan Graves, 20, both of New Haven. No arrests have been made in the shooting and police are continuing to investigate. (To sign up for Wallingford breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

The lawsuit, which was filed by Ward’s family and Hartford’s Nathan Mitchell, who was injured in the shooting, seeks more than $15,000 in damages. Mitchell, 25, is still recovering from his injuries, according to his attorneys.

The civil summons lists the Oakdale, Live Nation and Roc Nation, LLC as defendants along with Mill, whose real name is Robert Rihmeek Williams, and concert promoter Michael J. Willcox, also known as “Big Mike the Ruler,” and The Big Boy Game, LLC, which is the company where Willcox is a managing member.

Ward had been at the concert that evening to celebrate his 31st birthday with his family when he was caught in the crossfire and died from his injuries, according to his attorneys.

In the lawsuit, all the defendants were charged with “misconduct and negligence for failing to take the appropriate measures to protect concert-goers from harm.” The lawsuit claims the defendants “failed to deploy proper, universally recognized security measures, particularly pertaining to an event that has a history of violent and disorderly conduct—shootings had occurred at prior Meek Mill performances in Wilmington, Delaware and Danbury, Connecticut,” according to a press release.

Attorneys also said in the release that Mill’s lyrics incite violence and glorify the use of deadly weapons—including passages like: “Ak-47 picture perfect like a camera; I point it at your homie leave ‘em stinking like a pamper.”

“With song titles like ‘Body Count’ and ‘Ooh kill ‘em,’ that praise indiscriminate killing and mayhem, the potential for tragic incidents like this should have been properly anticipated and planned for by Meek Mill, his concert promoters and the Oakdale Theatre,” the plaintiffs’ attorney, Joel T. Faxon of Faxon Law Group in New Haven said in a statement. “If they are going to charge exorbitant ticket prices and pack people into the venue, security of the public has to be the primary concern. Obviously it was not here. The venue security was grossly understaffed and ill-equipped to deal with the hazardous environment presented by any Meek Mill concert. A strong police presence was required. After this incident The Oakdale beefed up the security substantially, but it was too late for Mr. Ward and Mr. Mitchell. They were innocent concertgoers who ended up in a war zone.”

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