United States

Family of Orinda Shooting Victim Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit

The family of one of the victims killed in the Halloween night shooting at an Airbnb rental in Orinda has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. The attorney for the Raymond Hill Junior’s family said that Airbnb, the owner of the home, the town of Orinda and the organizers of the party should be held responsible for the tragedy.

The family said they will be detailing their lawsuit in Contra Costa County Superior Court Friday. According to Jesse Danoff, their attorney, a history of incidents at short-term rentals over the last several months should have made Airbnb take precautions before the Halloween shooting.

“They knew, they ignored it, they took action once five people died of collateral damage,” Danoff said.

Danoff said his clients are especially disturbed by recent comments and tweets by Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky that pledge support to the victim’s families. He said his clients haven’t received any communications from the company.

The family of another victim killed that night, Omar Taylor Junior, is also considering a lawsuit. Omar Taylor Senior, his father, said he hasn’t heard from Airbnb either.

“I’m pretty surprised, this is a pretty big company we’re dealing with,” Taylor said. “To have this tragic loss that we’re all suffering from and nobody has, I haven’t seen anybody make statements about they’re sorry for this happening. No type of reaching out.”

According to figures compiled by the San Francisco Chronicle, 42 people have been shot at short-term rentals over the last six months in the U.S., and 17 of those people have died.

“I’m probably going to be looking more into that about going after a lawsuit as well,” Taylor said. “But right now I’m just trying to focus on getting my son taken care of and putting him away properly.”

Authorities have not named the organizers of the Halloween party, but Danoff said that their names will be added to the suit once that information is released.

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