The family of Allison Meadows says that Michael Turner is a hero for saving their daughter from a crazed knifeman in a Target store—and that the chain definitely shouldn't be suing him. Turner was among a group of men who tackled Leon Walls in a Target in Pittsburgh's East Liberty neighborhood in 2013 after the mentally ill homeless man grabbed the 16-year-old and stabbed her. Target, however, blames Turner for the incident, alleging that it wouldn't have happened if Turner and his friends hadn't chased Walls into the store after an incident outside, News Channel 9 reports. He was named as a defendant in a lawsuit the chain filed after Meadow's family filed a suit of its own, accusing Target of not providing enough security.
In a 2015 interview with KDKA, Turner said that after Walls attacked his friend for no reason, he and three other men discovered he had entered the nearby Target. They went in to hold him until police arrived, but Walls grabbed the girl when they confronted him. Last year, Walls was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison by a judge who criticized Target for suing Turner, CBS Pittsburgh reports. Judge Donna Jo McDaniel said she considers Turner and his friends heroes who saved the girl's life, and she thinks Target is suing to make the Meadows family back down. The trial in the Turner lawsuit begins Monday, and the Meadows family, who WTAE notes had been visiting from Tennessee when Allison was attacked, plan to return to Pittsburgh to attend.
