Z Town Asian Gastro Bar at 8409 Elk Grove Florin Road is closed Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, the day after one person was killed and three were hospitalized in a shooting early Sunday morning at the restaurant.
HECTOR AMEZCUA
hamezcua@sacbee.com
The mother of an 18-year-old man killed in a shooting at an Elk Grove bar has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the bar and the city.
The lawsuit, filed Feb. 2 and amended March 11 to include the city of Elk Grove, was filed by Thi Thanh Quyen Nguyen, the mother of Kim Kha Huynh, an 18-year-old man who died in the shooting.
The shooting occurred in the early morning hours of Nov. 2 at Z Town Asian Gastro Pub, located at 8409 Elk Grove Florin Road. Police said the suspect, Roderick Randall, and another man argued before the confrontation escalated into gunfire. Huynh and Phuc Minh Vo, 34, died, and two other men were hospitalized.
The lawsuit alleges that the dispute escalated over a period of time that would have allowed security to reasonably notice the situation and intervene, but the bar failed to de-escalate, separate the people involved in the dispute or remove them from the bar.
“What occurred inside the bar that night was not an unforeseeable act of random violence,” the lawsuit reads. “It was the tragic and predictable culmination of operational decisions, regulatory failures, and safety breakdowns that created a dangerous late-night environment in which lethal violence was allowed to occur.”
Randall, 43, was identified as a suspect by Elk Grove police and was on the run until January. He was arrested in Texas after he was caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border using a false identity and is awaiting federal sentencing at an ICE detention facility. After his sentencing, Randall will be transferred to the custody of the Sacramento County Main Jail to face the Elk Grove charges, according to Sacramento County Assistant Chief Deputy DA Rochelle Beardsley.
Randall’s criminal history includes a 2014 conviction for premeditated attempted murder in a gang-related shooting outside a shopping center in south Sacramento that left one person dead and wounded another. He was found guilty and was sentenced to 88 years to life in prison before changes to California sentencing law led to his release, officials at the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office said.
Officials with the California Department of Justice also said in November that Randall is a registered sex offender following convictions for lewd and lascivious acts with a minor and pimping a minor under the age of 16 in 2003.
The lawsuit lists 14 causes of action, including negligence, liability, breach of mandatory duty, failure to enforce safety conditions and violation of civil rights.
The lawsuit argues that reasonable safety precautions would include adequate numbers of trained security personnel, quick intervention and deescalation of conflict and enforcing clear policies to prevent weapons on the premises. It alleges that the bar took none of these precautions and had “inadequate security staffing” and “deficient policies.”
The lawsuit also alleges that the bar permitted patrons under 21 years of age to be inside the establishment, including Huynh, and did not enforce any systems to prevent underage drinking.
“This case is about accountability,” the lawsuit reads. “Businesses that profit from alcohol service and late-night operations must bear responsibility when they fail to take reasonable steps to protect the people they invite onto their premises. Public authorities that authorize and permit such operations must also exercise reasonable care to ensure that foreseeable risks to public safety are addressed.”
Z Town Asian Gastro Bar has not reopened “out of respect for the victims and their loved ones,” the restaurant said in an Instagram post.
A spokesperson for the city said they are unable to comment on pending litigation. The bar owners could not be reached as calls to the restaurant went unanswered.
The plaintiff is seeking a jury trial for this lawsuit and unspecified damages.
A hearing in the case was set for December, according to the online court system.
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Camryn Dadey is The Sacramento Bee’s Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova watchdog reporter. She is a 2022 graduate of Sacramento State.