New Report Strengthens Case That Army Ignored Repeated Warning Signs

LEWISTON, Maine, Sept. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On September 9, 2025, the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) issued a report concluding that the Army failed to make mandatory reports of violent threats almost 50% of the time. As a result, the survivors and families of victims of the October 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston have amended their lawsuit against the United States to include the DoD report.

The DoD report concluded that the Army's installation law enforcement failed to follow its own policies that required them to report Card's violent threats to a military criminal investigative organization and the Army's commanders failed to report Card's violent threats up the chain of command. The Inspector General concluded that this breakdown directly contributed to the Lewiston tragedy.

Attorneys for the victims say the report bolsters their case, revealing not only the Army's failure to protect Lewiston, but also a longstanding pattern of unaddressed violent threats.

"This report lays out the systemic problems the Army has had for years in failing to report violent threats to the military's own criminal investigation organizations and up the chain of command," said attorney Travis Brennan of Berman & Simmons. "Had the Army followed its own policies, it would have prevented an unstable and mentally ill service member from going back into this community without warning, protection, or a plan to keep us safe." 

The amended lawsuit, first filed September 3 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, names the U.S. Army, Department of Defense, and Keller Army Community Hospital. It details how these institutions disregarded clear warnings, including Card's explicit threat, made just six weeks before the shooting, that he intended to carry out a mass shooting.

The DoD Inspector General's report directly links the Army's lapses to the Lewiston tragedy, noting that "failure to consistently report violent threats to [military law enforcement] could increase the risk of additional violent incidents by service members, such as what occurred with SFC Card on October 25, 2023."

"This is an extremely significant development," said attorney Benjamin Gideon of Gideon Asen. "The DoD acknowledged systemic failures caused the Lewiston tragedy. Despite multiple opportunities to intervene, the Army failed again and again, with devastating consequences."

The DoD's admissions underscore the urgent need for accountability and systemic reform to protect communities from future tragedies.

The families are represented by four law firms: Berman & Simmons, Gideon Asen, National Trial Law, and Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder.

For More Information Contact: 
Christen Graham
cgraham@givingstrong.com
207-838-0082

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SOURCE Berman & Simmons, P.A.