A group of 100 surviving victims of the October 2023 Lewiston mass shooting and families of the deceased filed suit against the federal government on Wednesday, accusing it of negligence for failing to address the danger posed by the shooter, Army Reserve Sergeant Robert Card.
The lawsuit comes as Mainers prepare to vote on a ballot question to implement “red flag” laws, an expansion of Maine’s already existing “yellow flag” laws that would make it easier for the state to remove a person’s Second Amendment rights.
[RELATED: Mills Supports Republican Alternative to Red Flag Gun Grab Law as November Ballot Question Looms…]
“The Army repeatedly broke its promise to protect the community that it pledges to defend and must be held responsible,” said attorney Travis Brennan in a statement.
The victims are being represented by Brennan of the Berman and Simons firm and Benjamin Gideon of the Gideon Asen firm. The suit targets the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense, and Keller Army Community Hospital, accusing these institutions of failing to act to protect the public from Card before he murdered 18 people and injured others.
Card displayed a number of concerning signs before the shooting, including violent tendencies that led to an army-mandated mental health hospitalization in the months leading up to the murders.
A mental health evaluation at that time revealed that Card had homicidal tendencies and even had a hit list of people he believed had wronged him. Card also reportedly threatened to “shoot up” an army drill center in Saco and boasted that he could kill 100 people.
The Army reportedly told Card’s commander that he should not be allowed to carry firearms and should not be considered deployable following his mental health evaluation, though Army officials did not prevent Card from owning civilian firearms.
The plaintiffs accused the Army of downplaying the threat posed by Card when they requested a welfare check on him in September 2023. Army officials allegedly urged local law enforcement not to take action against Card.
The Army’s own internal report found that its members failed to follow proper procedures in their handling of Card’s situation. According to that report, Card’s mental state warranted a follow-up investigation that was not conducted.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys originally filed a notice of their intention to sue in October, giving the federal agencies involved six months to respond and investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting. After allegedly receiving no response, the plaintiffs have now officially filed suit.
“It’s hard to imagine the Army ever accepting accountability without being forced to do so in court,” said Gideon.
The 2023 Lewiston shooting has also led to an increased push from Maine gun control activists for new measures like the 72-hour waiting period for firearm purchases, which passed into Maine law but has not been in effect since a federal judge ruled against it in February.
[RELATED: Federal Judge Issues Injunction Against Maine’s 72-Hour Waiting Period after Purchasing a Firearm…]
Activists have also used the shooting to push for “red flag” laws.
Under red-flag laws, a judge could order firearms removed based purely on testimony from a concerned family member without the need for any investigation or evaluation to determine whether the individual is actually a danger to himself or others.
Maine currently has “yellow flag” laws that allow weapons to be confiscated only after the subject receives a mental health evaluation and a police assessment.
Governor Janet Mills’ (D-Maine) Independent Commission on the Lewiston shooting found that Card’s threats and behavior triggered the existing yellow flag laws and that it was a failure in enforcement, rather than the law itself, that allowed Card to continue possessing firearms.
[RELATED: Independent Commission Investigating Lewiston Shooting Releases Final Report…]
That fact has not stopped gun control activists with the Maine Gun Safety Coalition from gathering enough signatures to put red flag laws on the ballot this coming November for Mainers to consider.
[RELATED: Mainers Will Have Chance to Vote on Referendum Questions One and Two on the Ballot This November…]
Even Gov. Mills opposes the red flag referendum.
