Serving shooting victims
in Durham and across NC
When weak security lets a shooting happen, the property owner may share the blame. Our Durham apartment shooting injury lawyers stand up for victims and families.
When you rent an apartment, you expect a secure place to live—not a war zone. But in Durham and throughout North Carolina, residents are being shot in or near their apartment buildings because property owners failed to take even basic safety precautions.
If you or a loved one has been injured—or worse, killed—in an apartment shooting, this isn’t just a tragedy. It may also be a case of negligent security, and the property owner could be legally responsible.
At Johnson & Groninger PLLC, we help victims of apartment shootings seek justice. Our job is simple: expose the failures, build a strong case, and recover the compensation you deserve.
Shootings in apartment complexes are often portrayed as isolated criminal acts. But the truth is, many of them are foreseeable—especially in buildings or neighborhoods where violence is frequent, lighting is poor, and landlords repeatedly ignore tenants’ safety concerns.
When landlords:
…they are contributing to the danger.
And when someone gets hurt, they should be held accountable.
We’ve handled apartment shooting cases where one or more of the following was present:
In many of these cases, the owner or management company knew their property wasn’t safe. But they chose to do nothing—often to save money. That’s not just wrong. It’s negligence.
Whether you were shot inside your apartment, in the hallway, stairwell, parking lot, or breezeway, you may have the right to pursue a civil lawsuit for negligent security.
This is completely separate from the criminal case against the shooter. The criminal system punishes the offender. But it does nothing to help you recover from your injuries, trauma, or loss.
That’s where we come in.
At Johnson & Groninger, we work to:
Negligent security claims don’t go after the shooter—they go after those who allowed the danger to persist.
This may include:
Often, these entities point fingers at each other. Our job is to cut through the blame game and hold every responsible party accountable.
No amount of money can undo the trauma of being shot—or losing someone to gun violence. But a civil case can help with:
In some situations, you may also be eligible for punitive damages if the property owner acted with willful disregard for safety.
Apartment shooting cases are emotionally heavy and legally complex. You need a team that understands both.
Here’s what we do:
We gather video footage, police reports, emergency call logs, maintenance records, prior crime data, and witness statements.
The key to any negligent security claim is showing that the apartment complex should have foreseen the danger—and failed to act. We use public crime maps, past 911 calls, tenant complaints, and more to prove the risk was obvious.
We document your physical and emotional injuries thoroughly. Whether you’ve undergone surgery, require long-term care, or are battling PTSD, we make sure your full experience is heard and valued.
We’re not here to settle cheap. We prepare every case like it’s going to trial—because that’s what it often takes to get real results.
North Carolina follows pure contributory negligence rules. If the defense can prove you were even 1% at fault, you may be barred from recovery.
Insurance companies will try to shift blame—especially in cases involving crime. They may say:
We’ve seen these tactics before—and we don’t let them stand. Your rights don’t disappear just because the other side wants to make you the scapegoat.
Our law firm has helped clients recover millions of dollars in complex premises liability and negligent security cases—including those involving shootings, stabbings, and other violent crimes.
We’re known in Durham and across North Carolina for our:
We don’t give up. We don’t back down. And we don’t let negligent landlords walk away from the damage they helped cause.
Your pain deserves to be acknowledged. Your story deserves to be heard. And the people responsible for ignoring danger deserve to be held accountable.
At Johnson & Groninger PLLC, we’re here to help you reclaim power in the aftermath of a traumatic event. We offer confidential, compassionate consultations—and you don’t owe us a dime unless we win.
Based in Durham. Fighting for victims across North Carolina.
Free consultations. No recovery, no fee.
Yes, if the shooting was foreseeable and the property owner failed to take proper safety measures. You don’t need to know the shooter personally or be inside your unit when it happened.
You can still file a civil lawsuit. These cases focus on property conditions, not who pulled the trigger. As long as we can prove the owner’s negligence contributed to the risk, you have a path forward.
In North Carolina, the statute of limitations for personal injury is generally three years from the date of the shooting. For wrongful death cases, it’s usually two years from the date of death.
But don’t wait. Evidence like surveillance footage and witness memories can vanish quickly.
You don’t pay us anything upfront. We work on a contingency fee basis, which means:
If we don’t recover money for you, you owe us nothing.
Most cases settle before trial. But if we do go to court, we prepare you every step of the way. And we never encourage you to accept a low settlement just to avoid litigation.
We represent clients statewide, with offices in Durham and Charlotte. Whether you’ve been injured at work or hurt in a crash, we’ll meet you where you are.
