(The Center Square) – More than 100 family members and survivors of Maine's worst mass shooting are planning to file a lawsuit against the U.S. Army for failing to respond to warning signs that the reservist shooter was a threat.
In a letter of intent to sue, attorneys with the four law firms involved in the litigation say the Army was aware of the reservist's mental health deterioration, including suicide-idealization and thoughts of homicide. They say the Army didn't take steps to ensure he received treatment or alert local authorities before he shot and killed 18 people in a bowling alley Oct. 25, 2023, and turned the gun on himself two days later.
"It is difficult to conceive of a case in which Army personnel could have more warning signs and opportunities to intervene to prevent a service member from committing a mass shooting than what happened in the case of Army Reservist Robert Card," they wrote.
The filing of the letter of intent to sue names the Army, the U.S. Department of Defense, and Keller Army Community Hospital at West Point, is the step in suing the government. The federal agencies will have six months to respond to the legal challenge, after which a lawsuit can be filed.
The threat of litigation comes in the wake of reports suggesting the Army missed opportunities to potentially stop the rampage and a ruling by a federal judge two weeks ago that paved the way for family members and survivors of the Lewiston shooting to access Card's military records.
In the legal filing, the plaintiffs allege that the Army "broke its promises, failed to act reasonably, violated its own policies and procedures and disregarded directives and orders" by failing to act on Card's mental health issues.
Our hope is that our claims will continue to shine a light on the many lapses and breakdowns that allowed Card to remain in the community with access to weapons of war, despite his well-documented mental illness and threats of violence," Benjamin Gideon, an attorney with of Gideon Asen LLC, said in a statement.
The Lewiston shooting was the worst in Maine's history and drew national attention to the largely rural state, which has the country's lowest crime rate but a long record of resisting firearm restrictions.
Card's family members had reportedly alerted the Army and local authorities that he was having mental health issues and was heavily armed. He had been placed in a psychiatric unit about three weeks before the shooting, family members said.
An independent commission created by Gov. Janet Mills concluded there were enough warning signs for local authorities to seize the gunman's weapons under the state's "yellow flag" law – meaning officers can take firearms belonging to anyone believed to be a threat to themselves or others – before the Oct. 25 rampage.
An Army report released in June outlines a series of failures and "multiple errors" by Card's unit leading up to the shooting. Three officers in Card's reservist unit were disciplined for failing to follow proper procedures, according to the Army's report.
The Army report also faulted local law enforcement for not doing enough, saying investigators could have conducted "a more extensive welfare check" before the attack and confiscated his firearms.
Members of Maine's congressional delegation have called on the Army to update its procedures for following up with soldiers with mental illness to prevent future "tragedies" like the Lewiston shooting. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has filed a bill that would require the military to use intervention programs to disarm active members who are deemed a threat to themselves or others.
"Mass shootings, like what happened in Lewiston, are an epidemic in America," lawyers wrote in the legal filing. "Consequently, those in positions of responsibility and authority are required to appreciate the warning signs and behaviors that telegraph the risk of mass violence, take them seriously, and act to prevent their occurrence."
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