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ATLANTA (AP) — A security guard who was shot during a rampage at a FedEx facility just outside Atlanta is suing the company.
A lawsuit filed Monday in Gwinnett County Superior Court by Christopher Sparkman, 29, accuses FedEx of negligence, battery and more.
Geddy Kramer, 19, shot Sparkman at the start of an April 29, 2014, attack at a FedEx facility near Atlanta, police have said. Kramer wounded six people, including Sparkman, before killing himself.
Sparkman worked for AlliedBarton Security Services, which was under contract at the FedEx facility in Kennesaw at the time of the shooting. The complaint accuses FedEx officials of knowing Kramer was mentally unstable before the shooting but failing to intervene.
The lawsuit says that Kramer's manager told investigators during an interview after the shooting that Kramer had a negative attitude and mentioned multiple times that he felt like he was going crazy.
"And I didn't say anything. I didn't tell anybody. And I guess today he did, man," Kramer's manager told the investigator.
The complaint also said Kramer engaged in dangerous and threatening behavior toward co-workers between July 2013 and April 2014 that should have signaled potential trouble.
Sparkman's lawsuit seeks lost wages, medical expenses, compensation for pain and suffering and more.
The lawsuit says Sparkman was shot at close range and was on life support for more than a week after the shooting. Sparkman has undergone 47 operations since the shooting and has racked up more than $3 million in medical expenses, according to the complaint. The lawsuit says Sparkman's health and future medical treatment plans are uncertain.
"The tragic and unexpected events that occurred in Marietta a year ago were traumatic for many people, but were not caused by FedEx. Our top priority continues to be providing a safe and secure work environment," FedEx spokesman Perry Colosimo said in an emailed statement.
Colosimo said the company hasn't been served with the complaint yet and officials are deeply sympathetic to Sparkman and his family.
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