FSU football player Ethan Pritchard, father file lawsuit after Ethan survived being shot in head
NEWS. DEVELOPING THIS AFTERNOON, ETHAN PRICHARD, THE SEMINOLE HIGH GRAD AND FSU FOOTBALL PLAYER, HAS FILED A LAWSUIT AFTER BEING SHOT IN A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY. PRICHARD HAS MADE A REMARKABLE RECOVERY SINCE THE SHOOTING NEARLY THREE MONTHS AGO. WESH TWO STEWART MOORE HAS BEEN WITH ETHAN DURING HIS RECOVERY EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. JOINS US NOW WITH THE DETAILS ON THIS NEW LEGAL ACTION. STU. AND THIS IS A LONG TIME COMING, GUYS. WE SAW THAT THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. THAT LAWSUIT IS AIMED AT THE APARTMENT COMPLEXES WHERE THAT SHOOTING HAPPENED. AND PRICHARD IS SEEKING DAMAGES IN EXCESS OF $50,000. INVESTIGATORS SAY PRICHARD WAS DRIVING PAST THE HAVANA HEIGHTS AND RIVERSIDE APARTMENT COMPLEXES NEAR TALLAHASSEE IN AUGUST, WHEN GUNMEN OPENED FIRE AT HIS CAR AS HE DROVE HIS AUNT AND BABY COUSIN HOME. THE LAWSUIT CONTENDS BOTH COMPLEXES WERE AWARE OF THE HISTORY OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY ON AND NEAR THE PROPERTIES, AND SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT THE FOUR PEOPLE LATER ARRESTED IN THAT SHOOTING WERE KNOWN TO VISIT, TRESPASS AND LIVE THERE. SINCE THEN, PRICHARD HAS MADE TREMENDOUS PROGRESS IN HIS RECOVERY. WE HAVE BEEN WITH HIM SINCE HE WAS MOVED FROM A TALLAHASSEE HOSPITAL TO A REHAB FACILITY IN JACKSONVILLE. AND JUST LAST WEEK, I WAS THE ONLY LOCAL REPORTER INVITED BY THE PRICHARD FAMILY TO BE THERE. AS HE RANG THE BELL AND RECEIVED A STANDING OVATION AS HE WAS RELEASED FROM THE REHAB FACILITY. AND JUST A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO, I CAUGHT UP WITH PRICHARD AND HIS FAMILY AS THEY WERE RECOGNIZED DURING THE FLORIDA STATE VIRGINIA TECH FOOTBALL GAME. ETHAN AND HIS FAMILY LATER RETURNED TO SANFORD, HERE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA, WHERE HE NOW CONTINUES PHYSICAL THERAPY AND HOPES TO ONE DAY RETURN TO THE FIELD. NOW, ETHAN AND HIS FAMILY WERE SCHEDULED TO TALK ABOUT THAT LAWSUIT THIS AFTERNOON THAT HAS SINCE BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL A LATER TIME. WE REACHED OUT TO THE APA
FSU football player Ethan Pritchard, father file lawsuit after Ethan survived being shot in head
Updated: 4:41 PM EST Nov 20, 2025
Ethan Pritchard, the 18-year-old football player at Florida State University who was shot in the head, has filed a lawsuit against the apartment complexes where the shooting happened.The shooting happened while Pritchard drove his family home by the Riverside Apartment Complex on 16th Street in Havana near Tallahassee on Aug. 31. A group of attackers fired at his car due to a case of mistaken identity. Four suspects were arrested in connection with the shooting. The complaint states that both Riverside Apartment Complex and Havana Heights Apartments are fully aware of the substantial history of criminal activity on and around their premises.The complaint also alleges that: “Owners of the apartment complexes knew or should have known that there was a propensity for criminal conduct by third persons which exposed residents, guests and members of the public traversing the adjacent roadways between the premises to an unreasonably dangerous condition.”The lawsuit raises four separate counts of negligence:Negligence against Riverside Apartments LLPNegligence against Daniel McMillanNegligence against Community Havana LLCNegligence against Republic First Management Inc.Pritchard is being represented by attorneys Greg Francis and Ryan Fletcher of Osborne & Francis Law Firm in Orlando.Before he committed to FSU, Pritchard was a four-star linebacker at Seminole High School in Sanford. He led Seminole to a 10-2 record and a second consecutive regional final in 2024.Related content
Ethan Pritchard, the 18-year-old football player at Florida State University who was shot in the head, has filed a lawsuit against the apartment complexes where the shooting happened.
The shooting happened while Pritchard drove his family home by the Riverside Apartment Complex on 16th Street in Havana near Tallahassee on Aug. 31.
A group of attackers fired at his car due to a case of mistaken identity. Four suspects were arrested in connection with the shooting.
The complaint states that both Riverside Apartment Complex and Havana Heights Apartments are fully aware of the substantial history of criminal activity on and around their premises.
The complaint also alleges that:
“Owners of the apartment complexes knew or should have known that there was a propensity for criminal conduct by third persons which exposed residents, guests and members of the public traversing the adjacent roadways between the premises to an unreasonably dangerous condition.”
The lawsuit raises four separate counts of negligence:
Negligence against Riverside Apartments LLPNegligence against Daniel McMillanNegligence against Community Havana LLCNegligence against Republic First Management Inc.
Pritchard is being represented by attorneys Greg Francis and Ryan Fletcher of Osborne & Francis Law Firm in Orlando.
Before he committed to FSU, Pritchard was a four-star linebacker at Seminole High School in Sanford. He led Seminole to a 10-2 record and a second consecutive regional final in 2024.
Related content