A lawsuit filed by a Korean Air flight attendant who was seriously injured by a homeless man wielding a knife at a shopping mall in Downtown Los Angeles in 2022 has been partially settled.
The incident occurred on November 15, 2022, at Target in a popular shopping mall near Figueroa and 7th Street in downtown. The suspect, who is a black homeless male named David Franklin, stabbed a Korean Air flight attendant, Joo Hye Song, and a 9-year-old boy she was protecting.
According to the Los Angeles Superior Court, defense attorneys for the shopping mall’s security company, Watermark Security Group, filed a request for approval of a $500,000 tentative settlement on August 28.
“The settlement amount is sufficient to compensate the plaintiffs for their damages,” the request states, “and will be able to pay both the $190,000 sought by Ms. Song and the $270,000 sought by the boy.”
However, the trial is not yet completely over, as another defendant, Target, has asked the court to dismiss the case.
Target’s defense attorneys say that the incident was completely unforeseeable and that they thought it was a petty theft when the suspect first removed the knives from the shelves and did not expect him to wield a knife.
A hearing on Target’s request to dismiss the case will be held next month on September 17 in Los Angeles Superior Court.
BY YEOL JANG, HOONSIK WOO [jang.yeol@koreadaily.com]
