Buckhead club faces third trial over Mother's Day shooting

ATLANTA – A Buckhead nightclub that was the scene of a deadly shooting on Mother's Day now faces a third lawsuit related to the violence.

Atlanta police said a fight inside Elleven45 Salon, at the corner of Peachtree Road and Bennett Street, escalated into gunfire just after 2 a.m. on May 12.

Mariam Creighton, 21, and Nykris Ridley, 20, were killed in the shooting. Four other people were taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Earlier this week, Tanya Austin, the mother of Ridley's child, filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of their child.

In the lawsuit, Alston claims the nightclub had a history of violent crime and poor security.

She is seeking $5 million in damages.

Lawsuits against the Buckhead club

Austin's lawsuit is the third filed against Elleven45 Lounge. Last week, Juan Umberto Creighton and Tracey Easton, Creigton's parents, sued the club over his death.

In their lawsuit, the parents of the Albany State University volleyball player claim the nightclub was negligent.

“We're talking about multiple shootings, multiple stabbings,” said Parker Miller, the family's attorney and a member of the Beasley Allen Law Firm. “They know or should have known how dangerous this facility was.”

The city is already filing a complaint against the club. The authorities want to close it, calling it a public nuisance.

On June 6, the city and the business owners agreed to a 60-day closure, saying they would meet again in early August to discuss the club's future.

The salon's owners said in an Instagram post that efforts to shut down the salon were racially targeted. They also said they would install new security measures, including a digital age verification process and metal detectors at 33 areas.

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Arrest in Elleven45 shooting

A day before the city and club agreed to the temporary closure, police said they had made an arrest in connection with the deadly shooting.

According to the Atlanta Police Department, Karanji Reese, 21, turned himself in to police on June 5. He was charged with murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.