Lewiston Mass Shooting Survivors Sue US Army, Defense for Negligence

Families of the victims and survivors of the 2023 Lewiston, Maine, mass shooting have filed a federal negligence lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense, the Army, and Keller Army Community Hospital. The lawsuit alleges that military officials ignored multiple warning signs, including reports of the gunman Robert Card's deteriorating mental health and threats of violence prior to the October shooting that killed 18 people and injured 13. Despite Card's hospitalization and the condition that his weapons be confiscated, he was allowed to retain them and remained a danger in the community. The suit accuses the Army of failing to follow its own protocols and mandatory regulations designed to prevent such tragedies and criticizes the lack of intervention despite credible threats and mental health concerns. This legal action follows a state commission's findings that local law enforcement and the Army Reserve failed to act appropriately on warnings about Card. Attorneys representing the plaintiffs argue that the government must be held accountable for what they call one of the most preventable mass shootings in American history.