LEWISTON, Maine — (AP) — Survivors of Maine's deadliest mass shooting and relatives of victims sued the federal government Wednesday, alleging that the U.S. Army could and should have stopped one of its reservists from carrying out what they call "one of the most preventable mass tragedies in American history."
Eighteen people were killed in October 2023 when Robert Card opened fire at a bowling alley and a bar and grill. An independent commission appointed by Maine's governor later concluded that there were numerous opportunities for intervention by both Army officials and civilian law enforcement as Card's mental health deteriorated. He was found dead by suicide two days after the shootings.
“We’re all standing here today because on October 25, 2023, we lost something precious. Some of us lost our loved ones. Some of us have lost the ability to feel safe or secure. The one thing we all lost was our trust in those who are responsible,” said Cynthia Young, whose husband and 14-year-old son were killed.
"Losing both my husband and my child in a tragedy that never should have happened is a pain beyond words," she said at a news conference in Lewiston, not far from where the shootings took place. "We trusted those in power to protect our loved ones and their inaction cost us everything."
The lawsuit, filed in federal court on behalf of more than 100 survivors and victims' family members, accuses the U.S. government of negligence, saying its conduct “directly and proximately caused the mass shooting.” It alleges that Army officials and others “failed to act reasonably, broke the promises they made to Card's family and their community, violated mandatory polices, procedures and disregarded directives and orders.”
“By March 2023, the United States and its personnel knew Card was paranoid, delusional, violent, and lacked impulse control. The Army knew he had access to firearms. The Army promised to remove his guns but did not fulfill that promise,” the lawsuit states. “Worse, through its acts and omissions, the Army withheld information and actively misled local law enforcement, thereby preventing others from intervening and separating Card from his weapons.”
Spokespeople for the Department of Defense and the Army said they would not comment on pending litigation. A request for comment was emailed to the Keller Army Community Hospital.
“For nearly two years now, the families and victims have heard silence from the Army as they have all carried with them their grief and their physical scars,” attorney Travis Brennan said at the news conference. “The families and the victims deserve answers and accountability. They deserve resolution and peace.”
The attorneys began the process of suing the government a little less than a year ago when they filed notices of claim, saying the Army did not act despite being aware of Card's mental health decline. Card's mental health spiral led to his hospitalization and left him paranoid, delusional and expressing homicidal ideations, the claim said. He even produced a "hit list" of those he wanted to attack, attorneys said.
“The fact remains that the Army allowed an unstable, mentally ill service member to walk out into the community without any warning, without any protocols, without any plan to keep our community safe,” Brennan said.
Card's family members and fellow reservists said he had exhibited delusional and paranoid behavior months before the shootings. He was hospitalized by the Army during training in July 2023 in New York, where his unit was training West Point cadets, but Army Reserve officials have acknowledged that no one made sure Card was taking his medication or complying with his follow-up care at home in Bowdoin, Maine.
The starkest warning came in a September text from a fellow reservist: “I believe he’s going to snap and do a mass shooting.”
“From the start, the Army disregarded its mandatory policies and procedures, and regulations when dealing with Card,” the lawsuit states. “Despite the serious issues Card presented at the company or battalion level, they were not reported up the chain of command to senior military officials with the knowledge, experience, and resources to address them. Instead, low-ranking, part-time personnel mis-managed the risks, resulting in disastrous consequences.”
Army officials conducted their own investigation after the shootings that Lt. Gen. Jody Daniels, then the chief of the Army Reserve, said found "a series of failures by unit leadership." Three Army Reserve leaders were disciplined for dereliction of duty, according to the report. When the governor's commission released its final report last August, the Army issued a statement saying it was "committed to reviewing the findings and implementing sound changes to prevent tragedies like this from recurring."
The Lewiston shootings led to new guns laws in Maine, a state with a long tradition of hunting and gun ownership. The laws prompted legal action on the part of gun rights advocates in the state and remain a contentious topic nearly two years after the shootings.
Ben Dyer, who was shot multiple times and lost the use of one arm, said the lawsuit isn’t about money but rather finding out what went wrong and how to fix it. He said plaintiffs have and will continue to support each other as the case proceeds."
“We’re a strong group,” he said, before correcting himself. “No, we’re a strong family.”
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Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire.
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