Sept. 3 (UPI) — Survivors and the families of victims of a 2023 Maine mass shooting by an Army reservist have sued the United States for allegedly ignoring warning signs leading to the shooting.
The lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Maine arises from the Oct. 25, 2023, mass shooting by Army Reserve Sgt. Robert Card, 40.
Card shot and killed 18 people and wounded 13 others inside a bowling alley and restaurant in Lewiston, Maine, before shooting and killing himself.
Four law firms represent the families and victims, who seek accountability from the Defense Department, U.S. Army and Keller Army Community Hospital in West Point, N.Y.
“Losing both my husband and my child in a tragedy that never should have happened is a pain beyond words,” co-plaintiff Cynthia Young said.
Her husband, William, and son Aaron, 14, were shot and killed at the bowling alley.
“We trusted those in power to protect our loved ones,” Young said.
“Their inaction cost us everything,” she added. “No family should have to endure this heartbreak when so many warning signs were ignored.”
The plaintiffs accuse the defendants of ignoring a threat to commit a mass shooting that Card made six weeks before he carried out the shootings.
“The Army repeatedly broke its promise to protect the community that it pledges to defend and must be held responsible,” attorney Travis Brennan said in a news release.
“The evidence we have gathered since the shooting is disturbing,” Brennan said. “Despite every possible warning raised by Card’s behavior, the Army failed at every turn.”
The plaintiffs say the Army ignored its policies and regulations that are intended to protect the public from known risks created by soldiers with mental illness and who have access to military weapons.
The families petitioned the Army to accept accountability for the deadly event and filed the lawsuit after months of inaction, attorney Benjamin Gideon said.
The victims, families and attorneys announced the federal lawsuit during news conference on Wednesday.
An investigation following the mass shooting showed staff at the Four Winds Hospital in New York had determined Card was a “very low risk” of harming himself and others.
The psychiatric hospital had admitted Card for aggression, psychosis and homicidal ideations after he shoved another reservist during a training exercise in New York in July 2023.
An autopsy revealed Card had an undiagnosed traumatic brain injury, and the military banned Card from accessing weapons while on duty.
He still owned firearms, and the Sagadahoc County (Maine) Sheriff’s Department had received enough information to legally remove all firearms from his home.
The Army in August 2024 announced that new military recruits would undergo baseline cognitive tests to more easily diagnose and treat personnel with traumatic brain injuries.
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