Partygoer injured in Airbnb shooting sues company, property owners

A woman who was shot during the mass shooting at an Airbnb party Easter morning in Pittsburgh filed a lawsuit this week against the company and owners of the property where the shooting happened.

The lawsuit, filed in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on Wednesday, alleges negligence on the part of Airbnb and 900 North, the owners of 900 Madison Ave. in the city’s East Allegheny neighborhood.

Tyriale Neal, identified in the lawsuit only as an adult, said she was shot in the right leg, suffering a shattered femur, dislocated right hip, scarring, nerve damage and emotional and psychological injuries.

The lawsuit said Neal tried to flee when the gunfire began around 12:30 a.m. and, while she eventually made it outside, she was ultimately shot.

Two teenage boys were killed in the gunfire. No arrests have been made, and police have declined to say whether they have any suspects.

Police have said there were at least 200 people inside the rental unit, many of whom were underage. At least one noise complaint was called in to police around 11 p.m. An officer spoke with someone who agreed to turn down the music.

The lawsuit alleges that both Airbnb and 900 North should have known the potential for violence existed. Neal pointed to parties at Airbnb rental properties that previously ended in violence, including two in 2019: one in California in which five people were killed and another in Pittsburgh that left two people dead.

“Airbnb was aware that parties were regularly held at properties hosted on its internet platform,” the lawsuit said. “(The property owners were) aware that parties were regularly held at the property.”

The lawsuit accused Airbnb of offering rental properties without ensuring they would be monitored, safe, rented only by adults and free of parties. It goes on to accuse 900 North of the same failures.

Representatives for 900 North could not immediately be reached for comment.

Ben Breit, a spokesman for Airbnb, pointed to an earlier statement in which the company condemned the violence and noted a lifetime ban against the user who rented the Madison Avenue property.

It remains unclear who rented that property Easter weekend. Late last month, Airbnb made permanent its ban on parties at short-term rentals. The company cited a 44% drop in party reports from a year prior.