Not long after the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Fla., a botched evacuation during an active shooter drill at the Florida Mall Apple Store location led to injuries -- and now a lawsuit.
Both Apple itself and the Apple Store in Orlando's Florida Mall have been named as defendents in a new lawsuit filed this week by a Florida resident named Leslie Ortiz.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, the suit alleges that the store showed negligence in handling an evacuation drill in August of 2016, which was carried out in conjunction with the inspection for the opening of a nearby restaurant. The "realistic" drill, which included an alarm, "included officials popping six balloons to mimic the sound of gunfire."
Ortiz, and the rest of the shoppers, were first given instructions to lie down on the ground. According to the filing, they were then told to immediately get up and leave the store, which led to a rush to flee that injured nine people in the chaos, including Ortiz.
The balloon sounds were especially concerning, according to the account, because the Pulse mass shooting, in which 49 people died and many more were wounded, had taken place in the same city just two months eariler, and at least one person present in the store had lost friends in that tragedy.
Authorities said the injuries as a result of the drill resulted in "mostly falls, scrapes and twisted knees."
Ortiz, alleging that Apple "failed to have adequate staff on hand and failed to warn customers," seeks a jury trial, and "unspecified money award in excess of $15,000."
Leslie Ortiz versus Apple by Mike Wuerthele on Scribd