Target faces lawsuits filed by woman and 9-year-old boy stabbed by homeless man in LA store

A pair of November 2022 downtown Los Angeles Target store stabbings that left a 9-year-old boy and 25-year-old woman hospitalized has prompted lawsuits against the store.

The unprovoked stabbings happened when a homeless man walked into the store and grabbed a 9-inch "butcher-style knife," off a store shelf, and proceeded to randomly pick his two stabbing victims. Amid hysteria and chaos, a security guard shot and killed the suspect. Both victims have filed two separate lawsuits against the corporation.

Aside from Target, the lawsuits also list Brookfield Properties and Watermark Security Group, Inc. as defendants. The suits allege the property was not properly secured from such threats, security did not act quickly enough and Target had its knives out on display.

"Despite knowing that DTLA was seeing an uptick in crime and homelessness, as evidenced, in part, by Target employing an armed security guard to keep the store safe, on the evening of November 15, 2022, a deranged homeless man walked freely into the store, grabbed a butcher knife with a 9-inch blade easily off a shelf and proceeded to brutally attack not just one customer but two customers before he was belatedly shot by the security guard," the suit states.    

The 9-year-old boy, Brayden Medina was stabbed in the shoulder. He was at the store with his mother but was separated from her before being stabbed. Good Samaritans came to Medina's aid, applying pressure to his wounds.

The other stabbing victim was 25-year-old Joo Hye Song. She was "brutally" stabbed in the chest, according to LAPD Chief Michel Moore. 

Good Samaritans pulled the female victim into a pharmacy and closed the gate to protect them against the suspect. 

"Plaintiff Brayden suffered grave and life-changing injuries when he was stabbed multiple times at Target," the suit states. Brayden survived his injuries and was released from the hospital just before Christmas 2022. 

The lawsuit also says that following the incident, Target now locks its knives behind a display case, "a safety measure that should have already been in place before this tragedy occurred,"  the suit states.

When asked for a comment, a Target spokesperson said the company does not discuss matters regarding pending litigation and referred KCAL News to its previous comment made a week after the attack:

"An individual attacked two guests at our 7th & Figueroa store in Los Angeles. We can confirm that a third-party security guard intervened to stop the attack and the Los Angeles Police Department was quick to respond to the situation. Safety is our top priority and our hearts go out to the guests who were injured. We're grateful for the aid provided by the Los Angeles Police Department and others, and we're focusing on supporting our team in the wake of the incident. We'd refer additional questions to law enforcement."

Both plaintiffs are being represented by the law firm Panish, Shea, Boyle, Ravipudi LLP.