Man suing Orange Park casino after being shot outside venue in 2022

ORANGE PARK, Fla. – A man who was shot several times outside an Orange Park casino in 2022 after cashing out his winnings is now suing the venue. He believes not enough was done to keep him safe.

RELATED: Man found shot outside Orange Park Bestbet hospitalized, in life-threatening condition

Orange Park police said Karruah Parkinson was shot several times in the parking lot of bestbet Orange Park on November 23, 2022. Police said they found him in his car and rushed him to HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital.

Parkinson survived. Now two years later, he filed a negligent security lawsuit against bestbet.

Okoye Morgan is a personal injury attorney with The Black Law Company based out of Tampa. Morgan is representing Parkinson in this case and said bestbet did not provide adequate security.

“Those facilities should have adequate security to protect its patrons,” Morgan said. “We believe that the security was inadequate, and they owed our client a duty to protect him, and they failed.”

Some of Parkinson’s injuries after he was shot that night include wounds to his stomach and arm. According to his attorney, Parkinson is still recovering and receiving treatment.

“He is still in severe pain due to the severity of the injuries of him being shot near internal organs,” Morgan said about his client. “He is having some issues right now medically and complications with those organs.”

Morgan said Parkinson was playing poker and won about $6,000. When he was done, he left several poker chips on the table for the other people who were playing.

Morgan said after Parkinson cashed out, he went outside. That is when he said the people Parkinson gave the poker chips to followed him and eventually shot him.

Orange Park police said first responders found Parkinson in his car with several bullet holes in it after he crashed in the parking lot of the casino while trying to get away after the shooting.

“As he is trying to basically escape this shooting, he goes up to a security car or security stand or security post to try to flag down a security officer to no avail,” Morgan said. “There was no security officer there.”

Morgan added that the situation significantly changed Parkinson physically and emotionally.

“I will tell you what– he is not interested in visiting a casino again,” Morgan said of his client. “It has affected him, his mental health first of all. It is just a nightmare situation for anybody to survive and have to live through. It has affected his overall health.”

News4Jax reached out to representatives with bestbet Orange Park about the lawsuit.

A spokesperson said, “bestbet does not comment on pending litigation.”

Orange Park police revealed new details in their investigation. Police said at least three people are considered suspects in this case.

Cody Monroe, who is the assistant chief of police, said investigators found the car the people left the scene in, which police said was a stolen Chevrolet Tahoe.

Detectives found the gun involved in the shooting during an unrelated investigation.

Monroe said the police department also ran into some significant roadblocks in the investigation, which he said is the reason why the case is currently unsolved, and no one has been arrested.

In a statement, Monroe said, “Many of the individuals who might have information regarding this case are gang members or associated with gangs in the Duval County area and are not willing to cooperate with police.”

Morgan said he is suing on Parkinson’s behalf to send a message.“That there is adequate security measures in place to make sure that [patrons] are not followed out to their car, they are not being held up at gunpoint or shot while they are just enjoying a night at the casino,” Morgan said.

Orange Park police ask if you have any information about the shooting in 2022 that can help lead to arrest, call 904-264-5555 or First Coast Crime Stoppers with any information at 1-866-845-TIPS (8477).