Family files $15M lawsuit after man’s death in SW Portland preschool shooting

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The family of a man shot and killed by a preschool security guard is seeking more than $15 million in a wrongful death lawsuit filed this week.

Wilsonville resident Manuel Garza, 32, was shot May 8 in the parking lot of The Gan Jewish Preschool on Southwest Capitol Highway after a dispute with the school security guard. Garza died from his injuries about two weeks later.

Leading up to the incident, Garza had been suffering a mental health episode and driving around in his car while listening to music in an effort to calm down, according to the complaint.

He drove his vehicle into the preschool parking lot and exited. Then he returned a second time. According to the complaint, the security guard kicked his car and yelled, “Get out of here.”

Garza then left the parking lot and drove into the lot next door when, according to the complaint, the security guard followed him on foot.

In body-camera footage of the exchange initially released by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office in mid-June, Garza can be heard yelling “What’s your f—–g problem” before the security guard put his hands on Garza’s throat.

During the physical confrontation, the security guard took out his firearm and shot Garza in the stomach at close range.

In the complaint, the family argues that the security guard “chose to take matters into his own hand and acted outside the scope of his responsibilities,” and ultimately caused Garza’s death.

A spokesperson for the preschool previously said the guard acted in self-defense. The district attorney’s office said the guard was not facing charges.

KOIN 6 News reached out to the security guard, as well as the preschool, as they are both named in the lawsuit. Neither responded to a request for comment.