Oct. 15 – One hundred people closely affected by the Lewiston mass shooting plan to sue several federal agencies if they do not investigate claims that they failed to prevent an Army reservist from killing eighteen of their friends and loved ones last year killed in Maine’s deadliest mass shooting.
Survivors and family members of the victims sent letters of intent this week to the Department of Defense, the Army and Keller Army Community Hospital in New York. It kicks off a six-month period for the U.S. government to investigate claims that these agencies shot Sgt. Robert Card posed a threat, but still allowed him to be in the community with a serious, untreated mental illness and unfettered access to firearms – including the AR-10 he used in shootings at Schemengees Bar & Grille and Just-In- Time Recreation on October. 25, 2023.
“There is pain, trauma and regret that will never go away,” Cynthia Young said in a statement released by her lawyers. Young lost her husband, William, and her 14-year-old son, Aaron, at the bowling alley. “As terrible as the shooting was, what is even more tragic is that there were many opportunities to prevent it and they were not taken.”
The group also alleges that the military has failed to comply with its own laws and regulations in dealing with reservists who pose a risk to themselves and others, and that they have actively discouraged police from acting over concerns that Card was planning to carry out a mass shooting.
Should the government refute these claims, or fail to investigate them, the families plan to file a lawsuit.
“Today marks the first step toward ensuring accountability and justice for the families and victims of the worst mass shooting in Maine history,” Maine attorney Benjamin Gideon said in a written statement. “The U.S. should have sufficient information through the military’s own internal investigation to quickly assess our claims. However, if the US chooses to run out the clock by sitting on our claims without taking action, we will file our action six months and one day from today. .”
The team of attorneys and three of their clients will speak at the Franco Center on Tuesday afternoon.
The long-awaited legal move is backed by a team of four lawyers, including two national firms that successfully sued the Department of Defense following a mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
The government was ordered to pay $230 million in damages after a judge ruled that the Air Force and Defense Department were negligent in failing to apprehend the gunman, an Air Force member who had been hospitalized for a mental illness and had made threats against his unit on the FBI’s list of people banned from buying or owning guns – a series of events that closely follow the Card case.
THREATS Neglect and downplay
In the Lewiston case, their claims rely heavily on sworn testimony that Army officials and others gave to a state commission investigating the shooting. A summary of these claims sent to federal agencies outlines three key moments when they say the military failed to intervene:
– There was the spring of 2023, when Card’s friends and family told police and his military superiors about their shared concerns about his erratic behavior and access to firearms.
Card’s sister Nicole Herling had called the Army unit in Saco at least five times and called a VA crisis line in mid-2023, but was told her concerns could harm Card’s Army career, according to the summary and Herling’s testimony before the committee. .
– When Card was released from a psychiatric hospital in August 2023 after his erratic behavior and threats during his unit’s annual training in New York, Army officials and those who treated him at Keller failed to take meaningful steps to remove his personal firearms to secure. even though they recognized that they had to do that and there were laws that allowed them to do so, including New York’s SAFE Act and their red flag laws.)
— And finally, in September 2023, when Card’s friend reported that the reservist had threatened to carry out a mass shooting at their Army base in Saco and other places, lawyers say the military withheld information from local law enforcement and discouraged them from responding.
That includes failing to share texts of concern with the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office and suggesting their involvement could “escalate” the situation, the summary said. Army officials disputed in their testimony before the committee that they downplayed the situation.
The military “acted to protect itself by restricting Card’s access to firearms and firearms exercises on base and allowing him to skip combat meetings in September and October,” the summary said.
But when the sheriff’s office reached out, Army officials “downplayed their concerns, withheld critical information and actively discouraged the (Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office) from taking action.”
HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
The attorneys point to clear signs that Card was in crisis and posed a serious risk to others. He was delusional and believed that people were “talking about him” and “calling him a pedophile.”
“This critical question of why Card’s mental health deteriorated abruptly and dramatically after twenty ‘unremarkable’ years of service remained unanswered – and largely uninvestigated – by the military,” the summary said.
The lawyers suggest the military should have known what to look for, given its experience with other members who have carried out mass shootings. They pointed to tragedies at Fort Hood in 2009 and 2014, and cited an analysis of mass shootings from 1966 to 2023 that found a quarter of the cases studied involved a former or current military member.
“The military trains soldiers to kill using military weapons to maximize casualties,” the summary said. “Data has long shown that service members with mental illness are at significantly higher risk of violence against themselves or others.”
They also raised questions about whether the Defense Department should have paid more attention to Card’s exposure to blasts, which even at lower-level forces can cause brain injuries that alter mental status, the summary said.
Card had been training West Point cadets in explosives for almost a decade before something changed in him. But even when Card was admitted to an Army hospital, the Army failed to conduct a “Line of Duty investigation” to assess whether his conduct was related to his military work, the Army’s internal investigation found was released in July.
The Defense Department announced in August that it is implementing a new policy to protect military personnel from exposure to explosions after an analysis of Card’s brain showed he had suffered a brain injury. The new policy includes basic brain exams, protective equipment and educating military personnel about the symptoms and risks of blast exposure.
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