(The Center Square) — More than 100 family members and survivors of Maine’s worst mass shooting have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government for failing to respond to warning signs that the reservist shooter was a threat.
A federal lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Maine, alleges that the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense, and the Keller Army Community Hospital ignored warning signs that Army Reserve Sgt. Robert Card posed a threat to the community before he killed 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, setting off a two-day manhunt that ended when he committed suicide.
“If the Army does not accept accountability here, where it knew its soldier had severe mental illness, had access to weapons and was warned in advance that he planned to commit a mass shooting, then it’s hard to imagine the Army ever accepting accountability without being forced to do so in court,” Attorney Benjamin Gideon, one of several lawyers representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement.
Maine attorney Travis Brennan said in a statement that the Army “repeatedly broke its promise to protect the community that it pledges to defend and must be held responsible” and need to be held responsible by the federal courts. “Without accountability what hope can we have of preventing this kind of tragedy from repeating itself?” he said.
The legal challenge 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 119-page complaint, 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.
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.
Maine voters will decide in the Nov. 4 elections whether to create a “red flag” law that would allow police to seize weapons belonging to gun owners who are deemed to be a threat to themselves or others. The referendum was approved by lawmakers in response to the Lewiston mass shooting.
