PORTLAND, Maine (WGME) -- A sister of a Maine woman killed in the Lewiston mass shooting is suing the United States government, claiming it could have been prevented.
The lawsuit against the U.S. government and its agencies was filed this week in U.S. District Court of Maine in Portland by Bobbi Nichols.
On Oct. 25, 2023, Robert Card, an Army Reservist, opened fire at Just-in-Time Recreation and Schemengees Bar and Grille in Lewiston, killing 18 and wounding 13 others. His body was found two days later with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Nichols witnessed the shooting and her sister, Tricia Asselin, died in the attack.
The lawsuit states that Card "began systematically executing innocent people," including Asselin, while Nichols watched "mere feet" away."
She says the gunman showed clear warning signs that were ignored. The lawsuit argues the Army knew the shooter was dangerous for months, had rules to stop him, but failed repeatedly to act, which allowed the mass shooting to happen.
Nichols wants a bench trial and is seeking damages, saying the tragedy and her sister's death were preventable.
"Their deaths and injuries of many others were avoidable and preventable," the lawsuit said.
This is the second lawsuit brought against the U.S. after the shooting. A group of 100 families and survivors filed a lawsuit in September 2025 against the Department of Defense, the Army, Army Reserve Command, and the Keller Army Community Hospital. That lawsuit claims the shooting was preventable and that multiple agencies ignored the warning signs of the dangers posed by the shooter.
According to the Bangor Daily News, Nichols is not a member of that lawsuit.
For nine months following the tragedy, former Maine Chief Justice Dan Wathen led an independent commission to investigate the mass shooting.
The panel, made up of seven members, held more than a dozen hearings and compiled over six terabytes of documents, photos, video and testimony.
The commission's final report, which was released in August 2024, laid out a detailed timeline of the events leading up to the shooting and the response by police after. It also pointed to missed opportunities by law enforcement and the military to intervene before the tragedy.
Among its findings Sagadahoc County deputies had probable cause to use Maine's "yellow flag" law to remove Card's weapons but did not. Since then, the process has been streamlined, and use of the law has surged, recently surpassing 1,000 cases.
The commission's report also found that the leaders of Card's Army Reserve unit failed to undertake necessary steps to reduce the threat he posed to the public. They said his commanding officers were aware of his auditory hallucinations, increasingly aggressive behavior, collection of guns and ominous comments about his intentions.
Despite that knowledge, the commission said those commanding officers ignored the recommendations of Card's Army mental health providers to stay engaged with his care and "make sure that steps are taken to remove weapons" from his home.
Footage from July 16, 2023, obtained by the CBS13 I-Team, shows police and members of his Army Reserve unit take Card from his military barracks to a hospital to be treated for mental health concerns.
According to a police report, the concerns over Card's behavior stemmed from an incident the night before when he was drunk and wouldn't allow a commanding officer to inspect his room.
One unit member told troopers that Card had "experienced a decline in mental health" over the past couple of months and that he had "begun to hear others 'bad mouthing' him behind his back."
During their interview with Card himself, troopers can be heard asking Card about those interactions, and Card tells them that he was "fed up" with hearing others talk behind his back. Card, in his owns words, told police he "is capable" of acting on threats he had made toward members of his unit.
"I hope you understand they are concerned enough about your welfare that they called us," a trooper is heard saying in the footage.
"Because they are scared. They think I’m going to do something, because I’m capable," Card said.
During the more than 10-minute-long interview with troopers, Card talks about how he believes his unit members had been calling him a pedophile behind his back.
Card was diagnosed with a Brief Psychotic Disorder and was prescribed psychiatric medication during his 19-day stay at Four Winds Hospital in New York in July 2023. It was also recommended he get follow-up treatment.
A court hearing had been scheduled to involuntarily commit Card to the hospital; however, it was subsequently canceled. Card was released on Aug. 3, 2023.
On August 11, 2023, Card stated to a nurse care manager from Keller Army Hospital who had contacted him that he stopped taking his prescribed medication because it “made him feel lazy.” Card also complained to hospital staff that the hospitalization was limiting his ability to purchase firearms.
The Army’s Psychological Health Program closed Card’s case at the end of August because he was “unresponsive” to their efforts to contact him—which was standard policy at the time.
According to the report, in August and September of 2023, Card communicated increasingly violent, yet vague, threats and rhetoric to friends and family. He often described how many people he could hurt with his weapons or what locations he could “shoot up.”
The report states Card’s best friend contacted the unit chain of command and told them he was concerned that Card would conduct a mass shooting at his unit or somewhere else.
“Local law enforcement attempted to conduct two wellness checks on Card but failed to engage with him,” the report said.
A year later, the Army has released few details about what changes it has made, saying only that three officers were disciplined.