The family of a man killed at a Detroit Lions tailgate at Eastern Market in September 2024 has filed a lawsuit against the venue and two other companies, claiming negligence by the three parties. 

The lawsuit was filed July 31 in Wayne County Circuit Court on behalf of the estate of Rayshawn Palmer, age 40, of Detroit, one of the two who died in a shooting that took place Sept. 15, 2024, during a tailgate party at Eastern Market.   

The defending parties are Eastern Market Corporation, Shield Security Consultants and Protection Services, and Bullseye Event Group. The tailgate gathering was at the Eastern Market venue and hosted by Bullseye Events. Shield Security was a third-party security company hired to work at the event. The lawsuit seeks at least $25,000 in damages for medical, funeral and burial expenses related to Palmer's fatal injuries. 

"The shooting was a foreseeable act in light of the history of similar activity on or near the premises and the absence of reasonable preventative measures by Defendants," the lawsuit claims. 

The lawsuit was filed by the Detroit office of the national law firm Morgan & Morgan on behalf of Palmer's family. The law firm said in a statement that Palmer was not involved in the conflict but instead "tried to de-escalate the situation." 

"Rayshawn Palmer's six children will now go through life without their father because of an act of violence that we believe was preventable. Our lawsuit alleges that, despite a history of fights and violent incidents at Eastern Market, the defendants moved forward with inadequate security that allowed violence to escalate into a shooting that killed a beloved father, son, brother and uncle. Mr. Palmer's family has been absolutely devastated and will never be made whole again, but they are seeking justice and accountability in hopes that no one else has to endure the type of loss that they have," read the statement attributed to Morgan and Morgan founder John Morgan and attorney David Stechow. 

In response, Bullseye Event Group issued the following statement:

"Bullseye Event Group prioritizes security, nearly a decade of incident-free tailgates in Detroit. We emphasize that out event, is held inside Eastern Market's Shed 5, not outside in a parking lot. We would also emphasize our event concluded at 1:00 p.m. We are unsure as to why we would be included in the lawsuit, we do find the incident extremely unfortunate, but it occurred 4 ½ hours after our event concluded and outside our operational area which again is inside a building with a security detail. Our due diligence shows no record of the individuals involved purchasing tickets or attending the Bullseye event."

Eastern Market has declined to comment on the lawsuit. 

Circumstances of the shooting

Detroit police said a large fight broke out in Shed 6 and was briefly dispersed that day. But when two people started to act as if they would resume the fight, one of them pulled out a gun and fired it at least twice. 

Two guns were recovered from the area. 

Police officers who were in the area to direct traffic after the Detroit Lions game rushed to the scene and took one man into custody immediately. 

The victims were later identified as Palmer and 25-year-old Jalen Welch. One shot was fired, the bullet first struck Welch and then traveled through his body, striking Palmer. 

After an investigation, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced that no charges will be filed against the 40-year-old man, saying the shooter acted in self-defense. His name was not released by authorities. 

"It is absolutely tragic that during all the fun and merrymaking at a Lions tailgate that two lives were lost," Worthy said at the time. "The first was Mr. Welch, who was the one who first pulled out a gun and was shot by the 40-year-old, a lawful CPL holder, who was defending himself. A single shot was fired." 

Tailgate parties have resumed

Eastern Market canceled its Sept. 30, 2024, tailgate party in response to the incident. 

The market's tailgate party event series has since resumed in conjunction with selected events, with new policies that include no weapons on site, shorter time limits and assigned spots.