A bus shuttle services manager who says he was slashed across the face by a knife-wielding homeless man at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is suing the city, claiming it failed to adequately address widespread problems linked to some who seek shelter there.
Marietta resident Kwan Lawrence was on duty as a manager for Airport Shuttle Group when he was attacked outside the main airport terminal around 4 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2024, according to his lawsuit. The incident happened while he was trying to protect a female shuttle driver from the homeless man, the complaint states. Lawrence said his injuries included a stab wound on one eye, a deep cut across the bridge of his nose and cheek and a fractured right wrist.
The manager alleged the homeless man, identified by Atlanta police as Jacarie Seymour, had been hostile toward other shuttle passengers while riding the bus and made threatening remarks to the driver during several predawn routes around the airport. Seymour wanted to stay on the shuttle and threatened to kill Lawrence when the manager stepped in, according to the lawsuit.
Lawrence said in his complaint, filed Friday in Fulton County Superior Court, that Atlanta has for years “experienced a significant problem with homeless persons coming to and being present at” Hartsfield-Jackson without a legitimate reason.
The city owns and operates the airport, the world’s busiest.
“These conditions have resulted in serious criminal activity on the airport premises, including numerous assaults on passengers and employees present at the airport,” he said in the complaint.
A spokesperson for the Atlanta mayor’s office declined to comment on the case because it is pending. Lawrence’s attorney, Kevin Ross, also declined to comment Tuesday.
Documents attached to the lawsuit show Lawrence previously offered to settle his grievance against the city for just over $1 million, having reported around $83,000 in medical bills. He said he has permanent scarring on his face that may require surgery and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder because of the attack, which also continues to cause him severe headaches, anxiety and sleeping problems.
A letter attached to the complaint and sent to Lawrence and his attorney in May 2025 by Atlanta’s municipal clerk says the City Council decided that month to deny Lawrence’s initial claim for damages.
“In consultation with the City’s Law Department, who conducted an investigation of the situation, the Council has determined that the City cannot accept responsibility for this matter and therefore cannot pay this claim,” the clerk wrote in part.
Seymour, 26, is in the Clayton County Jail after he recently pleaded guilty to charges including aggravated assault in relation to the incident, court and jail records show. He was sentenced in June to five years in prison. His criminal defense attorney did not respond Tuesday to an inquiry about the prosecution. Seymour is not named in the lawsuit.
At the time of the incident, Atlanta police said they found Seymour hiding in a garbage can soon after he fled the scene. Officials said they found his knife nearby.
Lawrence, attacked in his second month on the job for the private shuttle company, claims Atlanta is liable for his injuries because it was negligent in its duty to keep the airport safe for staff, passengers and other “invitees” with a legitimate reason to be there. He alleged Seymour was known by the city to be a homeless person who had previously been banned from the airport.
“Defendant knew or should have known that a significant number of violent crimes had been committed on the airport premises related to the problem of homeless persons loitering on the airport premises and engaging in criminal activity but negligently failed to protect invitees like plaintiff from the risks of violent crime,” he alleged.
Before the attack, in February 2024, airport leaders announced they were restricting public access to terminals round the clock, citing safety and security concerns. They had previously, since 2018, limited access between 11 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. to address a growing issue of homeless people sleeping there, including inside the domestic terminal atrium. The airport is accessible as a final Southside train stop on MARTA’s red and gold lines.
An airport spokesperson did not respond Tuesday to an inquiry about issues related to homeless people.
Various entities and organizations have tried over the years to prevent homeless people from using the airport for shelter.
In late 2023, the Atlanta City Council Transportation Committee, which oversees the airport, passed a resolution urging the airport to adopt a plan to help homeless people, but it included few details on what a new plan should include.
More recently, the city created a “homelessness task force” to address encampments and other related issues.
As part of its approach, the city has partnered with organizations to move homeless people, especially in downtown areas, into permanent housing and shelters ahead of the FIFA World Cup.
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