The 100 survivors and families of the victims of Maine’s deadliest mass shooting have begun the process of suing the Army, as lawyers allege that the branch failed to stop the assailant from committing the atrocity, according to reports.
Army Reservist Robert Card opened fire on a crowd of people at two separate locations in Maine in late 2023, killing 18 people and wounding 13 more. Lawyers representing survivors and families of the victims announced they are planning to file a legal notice to the Army on Tuesday, the first step in a potential lawsuit against the branch. Lawyer’s allege that the Army failed to prevent Card from committing the shooting, claiming that the branch was aware there were clear warning signs that he was mentally unstable, according to reports.
“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,” lawyers wrote in their formal notice sent to the Department of Defense (DOD) on Friday, according to reports.
Four law firms are representing the families, according to reports. Though a lawsuit hasn’t yet been filed, a formal notice filed to DOD is the first step in the process.
The lawyers allege that the Army knew that Card had been in severe mental health decline, according to reports. Card had become disturbed, paranoid and expressed ideations of murder, and had created a “hit list” of people he wanted to kill.
Card warned in September 2023 that he wanted to “shoot up” an armory, and a friend of his had warned that he wanted to commit “a mass shooting,” but the Army failed to give proper background information to doctors who requested that Card’s access to weapons be restricted, according to reports. Card’s officer brushed off the warnings by defaming the friend in question’s character.
Card entered a bowling alley and a bar he had often frequented and opened fire on patrons at the two locations on Oct. 25, 2023, killing 18 people. Card was found to have committed suicide by gunshot two days later.
A Maine independent commission found in August that there were numerous chances for the Army to take action, according to reports. The Army said in July that unit leadership took “consistent and sustained actions” to address Card’s declining mental health but also admitted that “there were also a series of failures by unit leadership.”
The notices filed by the lawyers said that the U.S. federal government has six months to conduct a full investigation, or else a lawsuit will be filed.
“If the U.S. chooses to run out the clock by sitting on our claims without acting, we will file our action six months and one day from today,” one of the lawyers representing the families said in a statement, according to NBC News. “We are committed to moving forward and ensuring accountability and justice for our clients.”
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Maria Lin Kim/Unsplash)
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].
Republished with permission from Daily Caller News Foundation
