ORLANDO, Fla. — Ethan Pritchard, the Florida State University football player severely injured in a shooting over the summer, filed a lawsuit against the two apartment complexes he was driving by when he was shot.
Osborne & Francis Law Firm is representing Pritchard and says it will hold a news conference at a future date.
Pritchard, 18, was shot in the head on August 31 near Tallahassee, in Havana, Florida.
Police said it happened as the FSU freshman linebacker drove by the Havana Heights and Riverside apartment complexes. Investigators called the shooting a case of mistaken identity.
FDLE arrested four individuals; however, only three were charged with the shooting. Germany Atkins was charged with violation of probation but not the shooting.
Pritchard’s lawsuit claims the apartment complex ignored security issues and the criminal history of “one of four assailants”.
The lawsuit highlights a history of violence at Havana Heights, mentioning four previous shootings between June 2024 and August 2025, including one incident just six days before Pritchard was shot.
“The complaint alleges that owners of the apartment complexes knew or should have known that there was a propensity for criminal conduct by third persons which exposed residents, guests and members of the public traversing the adjacent roadways between the premises to an unreasonably dangerous condition,” the law firm stated in an email to Channel 9.
The suit claims the complex failed to maintain operable security cameras, security guards, or gates, which contributed to the unsafe environment. A previous lawsuit against Havana Heights, where a woman and her daughter were shot during a drive-by, was settled out of court.
His attorneys filed the complaint in Gadsen County.
Following long-term rehabilitation in Jacksonville, Pritchard recently returned home to Sanford.
He attended Seminole High School.
Most recently, the community held a welcome-home parade to show their support for Pritchard.
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