An altar honoring the victims of the Lewiston mass shooting was erected for an Oct. 29 vigil at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Lewiston. (Emma Davis/Maine Morning Star)
Victims of the Lewiston shoots announced Tuesday that they plan to sue the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army and an Army hospital for negligence in failing to respond to warning signs and an explicit threat to commit a mass shooting.
Four law firms collectively representing 100 clients, survivors and family members of the 18 deaths last October have sent a legal notice to the federal government describing this intention, but so far no lawsuits have been filed.
The federal government has six months to review the claims in this notice. known as Standard Form 95. If the U.S. denies the claims or fails to take action within this period, the plaintiffs can file lawsuits in federal court.
“The US should have sufficient information through the military’s own internal investigation
review our claims immediately. However, if the US chooses to pass the time by responding to our claims without taking action, we will file our action six months and one day from today,” said Benjamin Gideon, one of the lawyers representing the victims ..
The statements in the communication repeat many of the findings of stands And army investigations to date, which have revealed the failures of multiple agencies related to addressing Robert Card II’s deteriorating mental health in the months before he killed 18 people and injured 13 others on Oct. 25, 2023, in Lewiston.
“There is pain, trauma and regret that will never go away,” said Cynthia Young, whose husband William and 14-year-old son Aaron died. “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 notice includes allegations that the military failed to act when it became aware of Card’s deteriorating mental health and erratic behavior. It also alleges that despite the fact that Card’s mental health posed a serious threat to others, Keller Army Community Hospital in West Point, New York released Card without a plan for treatment. While Card was released on the condition that he have no access to firearms, the report also claims that the hospital and military failed to remove Card’s firearms, including the AR-10 assault rifle he used to carry out the mass shooting.
The notice focuses on allegations against federal agencies, but also addresses how those agencies left local law enforcement with incomplete information.
After Card’s release from the hospital and return to Maine, the military and hospital were unsuccessful
notify local Maine police to inform them of Card’s history or whether his doctors had ordered his weapons confiscated, the report said. The plaintiffs also allege that the military downplayed a threat to commit a mass shooting issued in September 2023 and prevented local law enforcement from taking decisive action.
“Today marks the first step toward ensuring accountability and justice for the families and victims of the worst mass shooting in Maine history,” Gideon said..
In addition to two Maine-based companies – Gideon Asen and Berman & Simmons – The victims of the Lewiston shooting are being supported by two out-of-state companies that have reached settlements for the victims of other mass shootings.
Koskoff, a Connecticut-based firm, previously represented victims of the 1950shonking at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. The company secured $73 million following a lawsuit against Remington, the maker of the AR-15 rifle used by the shooter.
Represented National Trial Law, a Texas-based firm survivors of a 2017 Sutherland Springs church shooting reaches a $230 million settlement with the U.S. Air Force failure to report the shooter’s history of violence in the FBI database.
“In the year since the mass shooting, several investigations have emerged and many facts have come to light showing that the military could – and should – have acted,” said Travis Brennan, an attorney at Berman & Simmons. “While we expect to learn more through the civil case, it is now abundantly clear that there were many opportunities for intervention that could have prevented the tragic events of October 25.”
The notice to the federal government does not contain any allegations about the failure of local law enforcement. There have been such shortcomings detailed by the state commission that investigated the shooting, specifically that the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office had sufficient probable cause to place Card in protective custody under Maine’s yellow flag law and starts a petition to confiscate his firearms.
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