Lawyers for the families of victims and survivors of the Lewiston mass shooting called on Maine’s congressional delegation to request an independent investigation by the Department of Defense’s inspector general into the events leading up to Maine’s deadliest shooting.

The request follows a report released Tuesday from the Army’s internal investigation – and another report by the Army’s inspector general – into its handling of Robert Card, an Army reservist who killed 18 people at a Lewiston bar and bowling alley Oct. 25. That report did not explain why Card was released from a New York hospital in August, despite displaying paranoia and homicidal ideation.

Dan Beazley of Northville, Michigan, holds a 65-pound cross Oct. 30 in front of Schemengees Bar & Grille at 551 Lincoln St. in Lewiston, while Karen Huard of Lisbon pauses after placing a bouquet of flowers alongside dozens of other memorials for those killed in the mass shooting Oct. 25 in Lewiston. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

In Wednesday’s letter, Travis Brennan, one of several lawyers representing families of victims and survivors of the shooting, argued that the Army’s investigation and a review by the Army’s inspector general had a “narrow scope” and offered “conflicting conclusions” in resulting reports. The lawyers requested that the Pentagon’s inspector general further investigate the events leading up to the tragedy, and called on Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King, and Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden to back the request.

A broader investigation by the Department of Defense is necessary to determine all the background information leading to the mass shooting, who should be held accountable, systemic failures “that caused numerous warning signs to be overlooked,” and recommendations for new policies that could prevent similar mistakes, the lawyers said.

Brennan wrote that certain questions – including whether Card’s hospitalizations at the Keller Army Hospital and Four Winds Hospital were involuntary, which could have triggered Maine’s “yellow flag” law to go into effect – warrant the Pentagon investigation.

“Although Card was a member of the U.S. Army Reserves, it is likely that the issues that have been identified to date with the Army Reserves extend to other branches of the military,” the letter states. “This further highlights the importance of appointing a DOD IG.”

Brennan also argues in the letter that the Army inspector general’s report states the “Army generally followed Army regulations and policies,” despite the Army’s investigation finding multiple errors by leaders of Card’s unit.

“It’s very hard to implement change and to implement recommendations if there’s disagreement on the underlying facts,” Brennan said during a phone call Wednesday night. “Every time that there is an investigation report, there’s new information that is uncovered.”

Brennan added that the Army’s inspector general does not appear to have conducted interviews with witnesses and instead relied solely on others’ reporting.

He said his team has received acknowledgement of the letter from the delegation after sending it late in the afternoon.

In a statement Wednesday night, a spokesperson for the Maine delegation confirmed that the members had received the letter and “are reviewing the requests being made.”

“Maine’s congressional delegation is focused on scrutinizing the tragedy that happened in Lewiston and remains committed to finding all the contributing factors and addressing them directly,” the spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement.

Brennan said he and his team cannot request a Pentagon investigation without the delegation’s help.

“The lives of the families affected by this have been changed forever, forever. And they deserve information, they deserve answers, and they deserve accountability,” Brennan said.