Houston attorneys, Mo Aziz and Ali Roberson of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner, and Omar Khawaja of The Law Offices of Omar Khawaja, PLLC, have filed suit against The Palms at Cypress Station apartment complex in North Houston on behalf of three-year-old Helena Lane and her family, after Helena was shot by a stray bullet resulting from gun violence in late April of 2021.
The incident took place in an apartment complex with a long history of violence and crime of this nature. In the three years prior to the incident there were close to 2,500 911 calls made to the police regarding incidents at The Palms at Cypress Station Apartment Complex. A lack of basic security and resident background checks has led to over 130 incidents in the past three years alone, including 41 assaults, 33 violent crimes with a deathly weapon, and 85 police calls for gunfire. On average the police are called 2-3 times a day by someone at the complex.
Children are often the unintended victims of this violence. Such is the case of three-year-old Helena Lane who was shot in the head by a stray bullet while sitting in her car seat outside of her family’s apartment, her mother and five-year-old sister witnessed the incident.
Commenting on the lawsuit, Attorney Mo Aziz said, “Apartment Complexes,
condominiums and apartment buildings have a duty to keep their residents, and guests of residents safe, particularly when danger is foreseeable, or predictable.”
The three-year-old is currently in critical, but stable, condition. Her family is now beginning the long road to recovery for Helena, and they are seeking compensation from the apartment complex for the violence that should have been prevented. For questions regarding the lawsuit, please contact Geoffrey Adkinson at [email protected] or 713-222-7211