Current:Home > MyAngie Harmon is suing Instacart and a former shopper who shot and killed her dog, Oliver -Elevate Capital Network
Angie Harmon is suing Instacart and a former shopper who shot and killed her dog, Oliver
View
Date:2025-04-12 14:19:43
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Actor Angie Harmon has filed a lawsuit against Instacart and one of its former shoppers who fatally shot her dog in March while delivering groceries at her North Carolina home.
The lawsuit filed late last week in Mecklenburg County seeks to hold the shopper and Instacart liable for accusations of trespassing, gross negligence, emotional distress and invasion of privacy, among other allegations. It accuses Instacart of engaging in negligent hiring, supervision, retention and misrepresentation. The suit seeks monetary damages, to be determined at trial.
Instacart says the shopper has since been permanently banned from its platform.
Harmon is known for her work on TV shows including “Law & Order” and “Rizolli & Isles.” She told ABC News that it was “so unfathomable to think that there is somebody in your front driveway that just fired a gun.”
“I think Instacart is beyond responsible for all of this. This didn’t have to happen,” Harmon said in the interview that aired Wednesday on “Good Morning America.” ABC News described the dog as a “beagle mix.”
According to the complaint, Harmon ordered an Instacart groceries delivery from a Charlotte store on March 30. The Instacart app showed a shopper named Merle with a profile photo of an older woman, with whom Harmon believed she was exchanging text messages about her order, the lawsuit says.
Later that day, Harmon was upstairs filling her squirrel feeders when a “tall and intimidating younger man,” not an older woman, showed up to deliver the groceries, the lawsuit says.
Harmon said she heard a gunshot sound and rushed outside. She found her dog, Oliver, had been shot, and saw the delivery person putting a gun into the front of his pants, according to the suit. Her teenage daughters, who had already been outside, were “in distress,” it says. The dog died at the veterinarian’s office.
The shopper told police that he shot the dog after it attacked him, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department told news outlets, adding that they did not pursue criminal charges.
In an Instagram post last month about the encounter, Harmon wrote that the shopper “did not have a scratch or bite on him nor were his pants torn.”
Instacart says it immediately suspended the shopper after receiving the report about the shooting, then later removed him permanently. The company says it runs comprehensive background checks on shoppers, prohibits them from carrying weapons and has anti-fraud measures that include periodically requiring them to take a photo of themselves to ensure the person shopping matches their photo on file.
“Our hearts continue to be with Ms. Harmon and her family following this disturbing incident,” Instacart said in a statement. “While we cannot comment on pending litigation, we have no tolerance for violence of any kind, and the shopper account has been permanently deactivated from our platform.”
veryGood! (6)
Related
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- Coco Gauff becomes first player since 2009 to win four WTA tournaments as a teenager
- Suspect killed, officer hospitalized in Kansas shooting
- Dirt bike rider dies in crash at Maine motocross park
- What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
- Possible explosion at Sherwin-Williams plant in Texas, police say
- Kyle Kirkwood wins unusually clean IndyCar race on streets of Nashville
- Historian on Trump indictment: The most important criminal trial in American history
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- Photos give rare glimpse of history: They fled the Nazis and found safety in Shanghai
Ranking
- Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
- 8-year-old Chicago girl fatally shot by man upset with kids making noise, witnesses say
- Lucas Glover overcomes yips to win 2023 Wyndham Championship on PGA Tour
- Minnesota 14-year-old arrested in shooting death of 12-year-old
- Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
- Andrew Tate, influencer facing rape and trafficking charges in Romania, released from house arrest
- Trump effort to overturn election 'aspirational', U.S. out of World Cup: 5 Things podcast
- Boating this summer? It's important to take precautions—bring these safety items
Recommendation
Tom Holland's New Venture Revealed
James McBride's 'Heaven & Earth Grocery Store' and more must-read new book releases
That's Billionaire 'Barbie' to you: The biggest movie of summer hits $1B at box office
Bloomsbury USA President Adrienne Vaughan Killed During Boating Accident in Italy's Amalfi Coast
Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
2 killed, 3 injured in Long Beach boat fire: Fire department
Penguins acquire 3-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Erik Karlsson in a trade with the Sharks
‘Barbie’ joins $1 billion club, breaks another record for female directors