Family members of victims and survivors of the Lewiston shooting indicated Tuesday they plan to sue the U.S. Department of Defense, Army and a military hospital for failing to respond to warning signs before an Army reservist carried out the deadliest rampage in Maine history.
Although no lawsuits have been filed, the legal notices that four firms jointly representing 100 victims and survivors served to the federal government Tuesday are the first step in the litigation process and also revealed arguments the plaintiffs will make against the Pentagon, Army and Keller Army Community Hospital in West Point, New York.
The notices focus only on the federal agencies. A state commission has also blamed Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office personnel for not taking Robert Card II into custody a few weeks before the 40-year-old Army reservist from Bowdoin killed 18 and injured 13 on Oct. 25, 2023, at a Lewiston bowling alley and bar. Police found him dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound following a 48-hour manhunt that put much of Maine on edge.
“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,” the notices say.
They reiterate findings from various investigations into the mass shooting in making allegations, such as that the Army became aware starting last spring of a “severe” decline in Card’s mental health and that hospital personnel who treated him a few months before the shooting determined his paranoia, homicidal ideations and comments about a “hit list” posed a serious risk before allowing him to return to Maine in August 2023.
Card’s military superiors did not follow hospital recommendations to remove his personal weapons, failed to notify local law enforcement of the hospital details and then downplayed the matter in September 2023 when Card’s friend warned he would commit a mass shooting.
The families and survivors have significant legal muscle via Maine firms Berman & Simmons and Gideon Asen along with National Trial Law and Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder PC.
Texas-based National Trial Law represented the survivors of the 2017 shooting at a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, that left 26 dead and 22 injured and reached an initial settlement of roughly $230 million with the U.S. Air Force over claims it did not report the gunman’s history of violence to a federal background check system.
The Connecticut-based Koskoff firm represented families of several children and adults killed in the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that had 26 fatalities, reaching a $73 million settlement after suing Remington, the maker of the gunman’s AR-15-style rifle.
The federal government has six months to evaluate the claims made in the notices, known as Form 95s. Ben Gideon, one of the lawyers for the families and survivors, vowed to file litigation after that “if the U.S. chooses to run out the clock by sitting on our claims without acting.”
Card’s fellow reservists and family had warned sheriff’s deputies and the Army Reserve for months about his paranoia, threats to “shoot up” places and access to guns before the shooting. Card used a semi-automatic rifle he had legally purchased a few days before he went in July 2023 to West Point for a routine training stint that instead turned into him receiving psychiatric treatment in New York after his peers grew concerned over his erratic behavior.
Card was released from Four Winds Hospital in Katonah, New York, after more than two weeks of treatment. His fellow reservists initially took him to Keller Army Community Hospital before Card was transferred to Four Winds.
A commission formed by Gov. Janet Mills faulted the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office for not using Maine’s “yellow flag” law to take Card into custody when conducting checks on him in September 2023. The panel also blamed Army Reserve leaders for communication lapses and not following recommendations from Four Winds Hospital to further monitor him and secure his weapons. Sheriff’s deputies and Army superiors instead relied on Card’s family to take away his guns, but few had contact with the Bowdoin man before Oct. 25.
After walking inside Just-In-Time Recreation a few minutes before 7 p.m. that night, Card took 48 seconds to kill eight people and injure three. He drove about four miles to Schemengees Bar and Grille and took 78 seconds to kill 10 more people and injure 10, per the commission. At least 20 others suffered injuries escaping the scenes.
“As terrible as the shooting was, it’s even more tragic that there were many opportunities to prevent this and they were not taken,” said Cynthia Young, whose husband, Bill, 44, and son, Aaron, 14, died at the bowling alley, in a Tuesday statement.
Through a probate court, Young received access earlier this month to Card’s estate to access additional medical and military records.
The Army Reserve and Army inspector general also released separate reviews into the shooting that mentioned discipline for three unidentified officers and identified errors by New York hospital staff. Those reviews found Card’s status as a civilian rather than an active-duty soldier limited the intervention options after he was released last August from a 19-day hospital stay.
Card, who enlisted in 2002 and never served in combat, had trained cadets for years as a grenade instructor, and experts who analyzed his brain found “significant evidence” of trauma. The Pentagon has since announced new guidelines meant to protect soldiers from shockwaves that can cause brain damage and plans for all new recruits to undergo cognitive function testing.
