HOLYOKE, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- Nearly three years after a nail technician was shot and killed at the Holyoke Mall, his widow has filed a lawsuit that accuses the mall, its security team, property management company, and the alleged shooter of negligence and wrongful death.

Michael Tran was working at Touch of Beauty Hair and Nail Salon inside the mall on January 28, 2023 when a shooting broke out between a customer and another man. Tran, 33, had nothing to do with the dispute, but was hit by gunfire and died. He left behind his wife and a young son.

Court documents obtained by Western Mass News reveal what the lawsuit called a troubling pattern of violence at the mall. In the three years before Tran’s death, there were five police calls per week to the Holyoke Mall. Nine of those calls were gun-related incidents. More than 140 calls were disturbances. In 2020, another young man was killed at the mall.

The lawsuit claimed the mall and its security company were negligent. According to the complaint, they knew about a history of gun violence and criminal activity at the mall, but didn’t do enough to keep people safe.

The lawsuit said the mall had a no-gun policy but, according to the complaint, that policy was not effectively communicated and there was no operative means in place to enforce it.

The security company, Allied Universal, claimed it provided the highest quality security using cutting edge technology that “keeps people safe.”

The lawsuit seeks damages for wrongful death and punitive damages due to gross negligence.

Western Mass News reached out to the mall for comment, but have not heard back.

Copyright 2026 Western Mass News (WGGB/WSHM). All rights reserved.