OAN Staff Abril Elfi
2:55 PM – Tuesday, October 15, 2024
100 survivors of the deadliest shooting in Maine’s history have begun the formal process to sue the Army over purported negligence in the case.
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On Tuesday, lawyers representing the survivors and family members of the October, 2023 shooting, said they began the process of suing the Army.
According to the individual notices of claim, the Army was made aware of the reservist’s deteriorating mental state, which included delusions, paranoia, and thoughts of killing people. He even created a “hit list” of people he wanted to kill.
“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 notices mailed Friday.
Four legal firms’ notices of claim are a prerequisite for filing a lawsuit against the federal government. A lawsuit may be filed once the Army has had six months to decide whether to reply.
On October 25th, 2023, the 40-year-old Card opened fire at two places he had visited, a bowling alley and at a cornhole league run by a bar and grill, killing 18 people and injuring 13 others.
Card was found dead two days later from a self-inflicted gunshot.
An impartial panel nominated by the governor of Maine came to the conclusion that there were numerous chances for the Army and civilian law enforcement to step in. Attorneys who are representing victims and bereaved families and friends are currently concentrating on the Army rather than on a for-profit hospital that handled Card’s care or law enforcement from outside the country.
According to the claim, Army Keller Hospital, the U.S. Army, and the Department of Defense “broke its promises, failed to act reasonably, violated its own policies and procedures and disregarded directives and orders.”
When local law enforcement officers asked to check on Card’s well-being in September 2023, after he threatened to “shoot up” an armory and his friend warned of “a mass shooting,” the Army neglected to provide crucial background information about two doctors’ recommendations that Card was not have access to weapons.
The allegations stated that Card’s commanding officer even minimized the threat by casting doubt on the veracity of the soldier issuing the warning and by refusing to divulge all of the information at his disposal.
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