Mother of man fatally shot by security guard at CHA complex files suit

The mother of a man who was fatally shot by a security guard last year at a Chicago Housing Authority complex is suing the property management and security companies that oversaw the property.

Ulisa Howell-Darby, mother and independent administrator of the estate of Eric Knox, was seeking more than $300,000 in the six-count suit against H.J. Russell & Company and Kates’ Detective & Security Services Agency, according to lawsuit, filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court. Russell was contracted to manage, operate and control the property, and Kates was hired to provide security.

The suit alleges that Knox, 24, was in a large crowd on June 18, 2016, at the ABLA-Robert Brooks Homes when he was shot and killed by an employee of Kates.

Knox, as well as two Kates security guards, were shot about 3:40 a.m. at the ABLA in the 1300 block of West Hastings, according Chicago Police.

Witnesses at the scene said the security guards pulled up to a large party outside the ABLA before shots were fired.

Knox, who lived in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, was shot multiple times in the back and was driven by friends to University of Chicago Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:50 a.m., according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The security guards were taken to Stroger Hospital for treatment, and their conditions were stabilized, police said. One, a 29-year-old man, was shot in both thighs, the hand and forearm. The second, a 30-year-old man, was shot in the hand.

The lawsuit alleges that Russell and Kates were both negligent, resulting in Knox’s death. It seeks at least $100,000 from Russell and at least $200,000 from Kates under the Wrongful Death and Survival acts.

Representatives for both companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.