Survivors of Maine mass shooting and victims’ relatives sue US government alleging negligence
By PATRICK WHITTLE and HOLLY RAMER Associated Press Survivors of Maine s deadliest mass shooting and relatives of casualties are suing the federal administration alleging that the U S Army could and should have stopped one of its reservists from carrying out what they call one of the preponderance preventable mass tragedies in American history Eighteen people were killed in October 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 agents and civilian law enforcement as Card s mental medical deteriorated He was discovered dead by suicide two days after the shootings FILE A woman visits a makeshift memorial outside Sparetime Bowling Alley the site of a mass shooting in this Oct file photo in Lewiston Maine AP Photo Robert F Bukaty File The lawsuit filed in federal court on behalf of more than survivors and casualties family members accuses the U S ruling body of negligence saying its conduct directly and proximately caused the mass shooting It alleges that Army leaders and others failed to act reasonably broke the promises they made to Card s family and their area violated mandatory polices procedures and disregarded directives and orders By March 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 Attorneys plan to provide more details Wednesday at a news conference in Lewiston not far from where the shootings took place The attorneys began the process of suing the cabinet 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 strength decline Card s mental healthcare spiral led to his hospitalization and left him paranoid delusional and expressing homicidal ideations the claim noted He even produced a hit list of those he needed to attack attorneys have mentioned Family members and fellow reservists mentioned Card had exhibited delusional and paranoid behavior months before the shootings He was hospitalized by the Army during training in July in New York where his unit was training West Point cadets but Army Reserve bureaucrats have acknowledged that no one made sure Card was taking his medication or complying with his follow-up care at home in Bowdoin Maine Related Articles In contemporary times in History September Treaty of Paris ends Revolutionary War Disney to pay million fine after FTC says it allowed content collection on kids Google avoids breakup in search monopoly scenario but judge orders other changes in landmark ruling Firefighters question leaders role in Washington immigration raid Amazon ends a scheme that lets Prime members share free shipping perk with users outside household 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 stated up the chain of command to senior military leaders with the knowledge experience and materials to address them Instead low-ranking part-time personnel mis-managed the risks resulting in disastrous consequences Army administrators conducted their own research after the shootings that Lt Gen Jody Daniels then the chief of the Army Reserve reported unveiled a series of failures by unit leadership Three Army Reserve leaders were disciplined for dereliction of duty according to the summary When the governor s commission disclosed its final account last August the Army issued a announcement 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
