PHILADELPHIA — The mother of Ju’Juan Jeffers, the 20-year-old man killed during a shooting at Lincoln University homecoming last November, has filed a lawsuit against the school, the university police chief, and others.

Attorneys for Marchelle Hargroves, Jeffers’ mother, allege that Lincoln prioritized the “college experience” over safety and, in doing so, fostered a campus culture that permitted violent and sometimes fatal acts," according to the suit filed Friday in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

“Lincoln University allowed unrestricted public access to its homecoming events and negligently failed to implement or enforce adequate security measures, including … controlled entry points, attendee screening, handheld wands, metal detectors and/or bag checks,” the suit said.

Jeffers, of Claymont, Delaware, was one of seven people shot at the Oct. 25 event; he was the only one who died.

Jeffers was not a student at Lincoln, but was attending the event as a “lawful invitee,” according to the suit.

Lincoln did not immediately respond for comment through a spokesperson. Its police chief, Marc Partee, declined comment.

Also named as a defendant in the lawsuit is Zecqueous Morgan-Thompson, who was charged with possessing a concealed firearm without a license at the event, but has not been charged in Jeffers’ shooting. Law enforcement officials said after the shooting that they had confirmed a match between a fired .380 cartridge at the scene and the Glock 28 semiautomatic pistol that Morgan-Thompson had.

Morgan-Thompson, the lawsuit said, fired a round during the event, “thereby helping to incite the crowd, which negligently and recklessly contributed to the shooting death of Mr. Jeffers.”

Morgan-Thompson’s attorney in his criminal case did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. A trial is scheduled this month for Morgan-Thompson; no other charges have been filed in connection to the homecoming shooting or Jeffers.

Other defendants listed in the lawsuit complaint include unnamed Lincoln security officers, as well as unnamed outside companies that Lincoln hired to provide additional security.

The lawsuit seeks punitive damages.

Michael T. van der Veen, an attorney for Hargroves, described Jeffers as an honor student, chess player, and “dedicated athlete” who wanted to serve in the military and start his own clothing company.

“He loved basketball and played throughout his school years,” van der Veen said at a news conference announcing the suit. “He had a beautiful life ahead of him.”

Lincoln at a board of trustees meeting last month announced new safety plans for large events, including no outdoor events after dusk, guest screening, and only one registered guest per student for the upcoming Spring Fling event in April.

Lincoln, an historically Black university with 1,650 students in rural Chester County, has been under pressure from its neighbors and Lower Oxford Township to make changes since the shooting. Several officials in Lower Oxford had reported ongoing problems with parking, trash on neighbors’ lawns, disturbances, and, in some cases, crime when the university hosts events. After thousands gathered for homecoming, emergency personnel had to use all-terrain vehicles to transport patients on stretchers because ambulances could not access the campus, given how many cars were parked around the venue, they said.

The township’s board of supervisors is expected to vote at their meeting at 7 p.m. Monday on a special events ordinance that would require a permit process for large events.

According to the lawsuit, thousands packed Lincoln’s International Cultural Center Building parking lot after the homecoming football game and there was alcohol consumption.

It took hours for Jeffers to receive medical care after he was shot, the complaint says, because the roads were clogged around the university.

“Multiple invitees were forced to render emergency medical aid because emergency medical personnel could not promptly access and reach him,” the suit said. “Lincoln University knew or should have known that the Homecoming football game and celebrations would attract a substantial number of attendees to its campus and were on notice of the need for protocols for adequate safety of and about the University.”

Partee, the Lincoln police chief, “failed to take reasonable steps to correct or remedy these dangerous conditions,” the suit said.

Concerns about behavior during large events had been raised with Lincoln officials by township officials and others over several years without adequate action, the suit said.

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