A mother is suing Santana Row shopping center and its security company after her 15-year-old son, David Gutierrez, was fatally attacked by alleged gang members. The lawsuit alleges negligence by a security guard who did not ensure David’s safety after an initial assault. David, wearing a red jacket, was targeted despite having no gang connections. The family seeks $10 million in damages, intending to use any proceeds to challenge Californian legislation, while actively protesting lenient charges against the attackers.
The lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court this week alleges that the security guard who initially intervened to break up an assault on David Gutierrez by four suspected gang members did nothing to look after him after the initial assault, leaving him vulnerable to the second attack moments later that led to his death.
Police and the family say David had no gang ties and was targeted because he was wearing a red jacket to celebrate the holiday, not as a gang color.
The lawsuit seeks $10 million in damages. If their civil lawsuit is successful, the family says they plan to use any proceeds to try to overturn California Proposition 57.
David's mother, stepfather and aunt have rallied upwards of two dozen people with handmade signs and a bullhorn at numerous court hearings, protesting what they consider lenient penalties facing the four juveniles and one 18-year-old adult who have been charged in the case.
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