AUSTIN, Texas – A woman who works at the Tesla gigafactory said the man accused of carrying out the deadly 6th Street shooting once violently attacked her at work, just a few months before the tragedy.
She is now suing the Austin-based company.
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What they’re saying:
The woman’s attorney said Tesla should have known of Ndiaga Diagne’s “temperament and propensity for aggression” and should have maintained a safe work area for everyone.
Sixty-five-year-old Lillian Mendoza Brady said the first time she learned the name of the man who attacked her at work, was while watching the news of the deadly Sixth Street mass shooting.
“She was with her family and she literally yelled, that’s the guy that assaulted me and that’s the first she saw his name when that happened,” personal injury attorney Bob Hilliard said.
A lawsuit filed by Brady said back on Dec. 4, she was walking through a common area at Tesla’s factory when she saw another employee praying in a walkway.
“Miss Brady wanted to be respectful, so she stopped and tried to figure out a way to get around him without disturbing him, so she started to walk around him to avoid him, and he suddenly jumped up, grabbed her, and threw her down. She didn’t know him, he didn’t know her,” Hilliard said.
Hilliard said Brady went straight to authorities at the Tesla facility to report what she believed was a felony assault, but claimed it was difficult to receive information about the man.
“Tesla said, no, we’re not giving you the name and you don’t get the videotape,” Hilliard said. “Was the delay, the refusal to cooperate with police officers, a contributing factor to him being free on that day, when he walked down 6th Street with that gun and started shooting kids.”
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The case was investigated by the Travis County Sheriff’s Office but has since been closed by exception because the suspect is now dead.
Hilliard said Brady suffered injuries to her back, neck, and hips and was off from work for six weeks. She is seeking more than a million dollars in damages, claiming Tesla failed to protect her.
“The lawsuit is really about Miss Brady’s right to have a safe workplace, but it’s also about what did Tesla know about this assailant before the assault and could they have prevented the assault itself,” Hilliard said..
This lawsuit was filed on Thursday, after the shooting, but Hilliard said he was hired for the personal injury case before that.
Big picture view:
U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) raised concerns on the House floor Thursday and said at one point Diagne was in violation of immigration law.
“I think we’ve got to wrestle with some serious questions about who we allow into this country and why,” Roy said.
Roy said the gunman emigrated from Senegal in 2000 and overstayed his visa, then in 2006 he was given legal permanent residency status, then in 2012 he was given full citizenship.
“This man didn’t need to be in the United States, who does not share our values, clearly was interested in serving his convictions for Iran, radical Islamism more than his commitment to this country, peace, and our rule of law,” Roy said.
The other side:
Tesla has not responded to any requests for comment from FOX 7 Austin.
The Source: Information in this report comes from a lawsuit filed against Tesla, interviews by FOX 7 Austin’s Meredith Aldis, and U.S. House floor footage.
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