Rite Aid Found Not Liable For 2018 Mass Shooting At Perryman Warehouse

ABERDEEN, MD — A worker who suffered gunshot wounds at a Rite Aid warehouse in Perryman in 2018 had his lawsuit for damages rejected last week, according to a ruling from the Maryland Appellate Court published on Tuesday.

The appellate court confirmed a prior decision by the Baltimore County Circuit Court that granted Rite Aid summary judgment in the lawsuit filed by Haissaun Mitchell, a worker who was shot in the leg in the Sept. 20, 2018, mass shooting that left four people dead and three wounded. Also filing suit were Shyheim Mitchell, the brother of Haissaun, and Michael Mitchell, the victim's son.

On Sept. 20, 2018, Snochia Moseley, 26, an Abacus employee assigned to work at a Perryman warehouse leased by Rite Aid, quarreled with coworkers and shot six people. She was later found to have suffered from a mental illness.

Seven people were shot, and four of them died, including Moseley, of Baltimore County, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Harford County Sheriff's Office. She was a temporary employee of the Rite Aid facility, where there were 65 people inside at the time, Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said.

Haissaun Mitchell was shot in the leg during Moseley’s attack and all three suffer ongoing emotional and physical repercussions from the trauma they experienced that day, court documents said.

The family sued Haissaun's employer, Pinnacle Workforce Logistics, doing business as Capstone Logistics, LLC. The Mitchells also filed suit against Rite Aid and Abacus in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County, Maryland, court documents show.

In their two-count complaint, the Mitchells alleged that they suffered damages caused by Rite Aid’s and Abacus’s negligent failure to provide adequate security at the Aberdeen facility, and the negligent hiring and supervision of Moseley.

The court ruled there was no proof that Abacus knew of problems Moseley had with co-workers and Rite Aid could not have reasonably foreseen the tragedy and therefore was not liable for the inadequate security at the warehouse. The court also ruled that Abacus Corp., the temporary employment company that hired the shooter, was not negligent in its assessment of candidates.

The court’s ruling said, “the record reflects that Abacus conducted a reasonable inquiry into [the shooter’s] fitness as an employee that simply failed to reveal certain red flags which tend to evade most standard background checks.”

The three Mitchells received workers’ compensation benefits through their employer, Capstone Logistics. The company contracted with Rite Aid to unload trucks at the warehouse.

Shooting Kills 3, Injures 3

Three people were killed, according to the Harford County Sheriff's Office:

• Sunday Aguda, 45, of the 2900 block of Dunmurry Road in Dundalk; he was shot in the parking lot.
• Brindra Giri, 41, of the 1300 block of Colbury Road in Baltimore County; she was shot inside.
• Hayleen Reyes, 21, of the 400 block of Gusryan Road in Baltimore

Three people were shot and survived, officials said:

• Hassan Mitchell, a man from Perrywood Court in Harford County
• Wilfredo Villegas, a man from Gaithersburg
• Acharya Purna, a man from Ridgewood, New York

Related:

• MD Mass Shooter: Victims Named, Motive Unclear
• Snochia Moseley: 5 Things To Know About Maryland Shooter
• Perryman Shooting In Photos: Police Search, Bystanders Wait

After the altercation, Moseley left the warehouse and returned with a handgun, using her employee ID to reenter the facility. Once inside, she opened fire, killing three workers and injuring three others. Before police arrived on the scene, Moseley turned the gun on herself, dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

An investigation into the shooting revealed that Moseley suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, frequently experiencing delusions.