More lawsuits filed against Kroger following Collierville shooting

COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. (WMC) - Two more lawsuits have been filed against Kroger and the third-party sushi company SNOWFOX/JFE Franchising for gross negligence that enabled the mass shooting at the New Byhalia Road store in September of last year.

The first was filed by Mariko Jenkins in September.

Two more suits were filed in October, first by a Collierville couple, Joseph and Linda Ashe.

The lawsuit reads the two were in the fresh meat and seafood area of the store when Uk Thang, a former employee of SNOWFOX who’d been fired earlier that day, came through the doors and opened fire.

The Ashes “ran into an employees-only section of the store and out into the area behind the store... saw an enclosure that contained a dumpster. They hid in that dumpster.”

Shortly after, “Thang did in fact find them. He followed the same path... walked out to the enclosure... and continued shooting.”

Joseph was hit twice in the shoulder and the abdomen, having to stay in the hospital for 12 days, while Linda was hit by ricocheted bullets and was treated by her doctor.

The two allege that “the Kroger defendants knew, or should have known, that on that day (the day Thang was fired), Thang presented an imminently foreseeable risk of danger to its employees and customers.”

“The Kroger Defendants had a duty to protect their customers and employees,” the lawsuit read.

There is no set amount in the form of damages the Ashes are asking for, but they do say the amount is over $75,000, which would allow their case to go to federal court.

Kroger issued no comment on this lawsuit, and we did not receive word back from the Ashe’s attorney, Taylor Cates of Memphis.

The second lawsuit comes from Linda Archibald, who was working at the store when the shooting took place.

Archibald recalled the morning of when Thang was fired, saying Thang responded “angrily” and showed “great propensity to act violently.”

According to the suit, Thang had “a history of confrontations and disagreements with other individuals, including employees.”

The lawsuit read further that “all Defendants knew or should have known that Thang presented a danger.”

Archibald was shot during the shooting.

She, like the Ashes, is demanding a trial by jury, asking for compensatory damages of up to $5 million and punitive damages of up to $5 million.

Her attorney, former Shelby County Commissioner Julian Bolton, spoke to us on the phone, respectfully declining to comment on the case at this time.

Kroger issued no comment on this case, as well.

Click here to sign up for our newsletter!

Click here to report a spelling or grammar error. Please include the headline.

Copyright 2022 WMC. All rights reserved.