The Maine mass shooting victims and their families have signaled intent to sue after officials were slammed for missing red flags – as a probe is launched into the attack that left 18 people dead.
Gunman Robert Card killed 18 people and injured 13 others at a bowling alley and bar on October 25 in Lewiston in the deadliest mass shooting in Maine history.
Victims to sue officials
Gov. Janet Mills and Attorney General Aaron Frey created the panel with an executive order Thursday, on the same day victims and family members signaled their intent to sue with requests to 20 state and federal agencies to preserve evidence.
‘As we have said, the complete facts and circumstances – including any failures or omissions – must be brought to light and known by all,’ Mills and Frey said in a statement.
‘The families of the victims, those who were injured, and the people of Maine and the nation deserve nothing less,’ they added.
Why were his threats ignored?
It comes after reports revealed that Card’s colleagues and families had repeatedly raised the alarm about threats he’d made in the months leading up to the attack.
The independent panel was directed Thursday by the governor and attorney general to ‘follow the facts wherever they may lead’.
Victims want legal justice
Members include former judges, prosecutors and mental health professionals. Attorneys have urged the families of the victims to seek legal justice.
At a roundtable discussion on Monday, prominent attorneys Josh Koskoff of Connecticut and Jamal Alsaffar of Texas pointed out ways Lewiston families could use the civil court system to find some form of justice.
READ MORE: Maine mass shooter Robert Card was ‘LIKELY dead for 8 to 12 hours before his body was found’
Lewiston-based law firm Berman & Simmons is representing multiple victims of the Oct. 25 mass shootings, in addition to handling the estates of victims who were killed that day.
‘The community of Lewiston, especially the victims and their families, have many unanswered questions. Why did this happen? How did the system fail? What changes are needed to ensure this never happens again?’ said attorney Travis Brennan from Berman & Simmons, a Lewiston-based law firm.
The firm sent letters to at least 20 agencies, telling them to ‘preserve all documents and information that may be relevant to the litigation of civil personal injury claims by victims of the Lewiston mass shootings.’
Some of the agencies include the US Army Reserve, the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office and Four Winds Hospital in New York.
