Hostage Died While No One Answered Calls For Help; Now Family Files Lawsuit

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May 30, 2025

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – The family of Qualin Campbell, the 31-year-old black father who made national headlines in 2023 when he was taken hostage and killed less than a mile away from Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) Headquarters, has filed a lawsuit against the owners of the S. Nevada Avenue KFC and Taco Bell whose negligence ignoring the history of criminal activity and violence on their properties attorneys say directly led to Campbell’s murder.

Campbell’s family is represented by renowned national civil rights attorney Harry Daniels and Kevin Mehr.

The incident occurred on June 2, 2023 when Campbell, a father of two, arrived at the KFC drive-thru and parking lot located on S Nevada Avenue to buy food during his lunch break. That was when a homeless man with a history of prior arrests in the same location named David Emmanuel Guidry forced his way into Campbell’s car. Unfortunately, despite the fact that Campbell managed to text his wife begging for help, Guidry managed to shoot and kill Campbell and himself. Both Campbell and his wife, Tali’Ja Campbell, called 911 but CSPD officers failed to respond until an hour later after his uncle, Myron Bradford, went to the scene himself and, finding both men dead, called 911 again.

According to the lawsuit, no one from either the S. Nevada Avenue KFC or the next door Taco Bell ever called the police to report the carjacking or came to Campbell’s assistance despite the sound of four loud gunshots in the parking lot. Furthermore, according to the lawsuit, neither the property owners nor the KFC and Taco Bell did anything to protect their customers against the growing crime and violence at the S. Nevada Avenue location.

To illustrate this point, the lawsuit details nearly 120 different 911 calls over a roughly two-year period. These emergency incidents range from threats and harassment to armed robberies and multiple shootings. Despite this troubling trend, the property owners failed to take any reasonable measures to deter violence and protect their customers.

The owners of this property have allowed it to become increasingly dangerous and violent without taking even the most basic steps to protect their customers because doing so might have eaten into their profits,” said Daniels. “That greed and neglect is a danger to this community. It already cost Qualin Campbell his life and, unless something is done, he’ll just be the first.”

Click HERE to view a copy of the lawsuit.