The mother and son of a 27-year-old man shot and killed after picking up food at a South Los Angeles shopping center in 2017 are suing the owners of the property.

Nicole Williams brought the wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of herself and her grandson, who was 7 years old when his father died, in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday against Vermont Square and Charles Peter Scurich, identified in the complaint as the owners of the commercial center at 43rd Street and Vermont Avenue.

Representatives for the defendants could not be immediately reached for comment on the suit, which also alleges negligence, premises liability and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages.

Los Angeles police previously said that Antonio Maurice Wilson, who was known in the community as Tony, was in a group of people standing in the parking lot of the shopping center after picking up his food to take home when someone walked up and fired shots into the crowd about 6 p.m. on Nov. 14, 2017. The shooter fled to a waiting car and remains at large, the suit states.

Wilson underwent surgeries for gunshot injuries to his colon, liver and heart before he died on Nov. 30, 2017, according to the complaint.

The shopping center “was a hub of criminal and gang activity and was the site of multiple shootings,” the suit alleges.

The previous crimes at the location included murder, drive-by shootings, robberies, attempted robberies, batteries and a constant presence of gang members, according to the complaint, which says a man was shot five times outside a nail salon located within the center in one of the earlier incidents that year.

Despite knowing about such violence, the shopping center owners did not have any security guards present or any type of security protection system in place to protect patrons, the suit states.

Wilson lived with his mother and was a singer-songwriter who had studied to be an ultrasound technician so that he could help support his mother and son, the suit states.

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