Lewiston Shooting Case: Department of Defense Releases Report on Threats by Services Members

On September 9, 2025, the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) released a significant report evaluating how the military responds to violent threats made by service members. This report, Evaluation of DoD Policies and Procedures for Responding to Reports of Violent Threats Made by Service Members (DODIG-2025-157), brings critical attention to the very issues at the heart of the Lewiston tragedy.

Read the Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General’s summary

Read the full report here

What the Report Found

The Army’s Failure to Follow Its Own Policies in the Lead Up to the Lewiston Mass Shooting was NOT an Isolated Event

The DoD OIG concluded that while the Department of Defense, Army, and Air Force have formal policies requiring medical providers to report violent threats by service members to law enforcement, in many cases personnel were not following those policies. The DoD IG reported that in an audit of 67 incidents involving reports of service member violence, in 32 of them there was no documentation that the violent threat was reported to law enforcement in accordance with mandatory reporting policies.

The Failure to Properly Report Threats of Violence Increased the Risk to the Public

For the first time since the Lewiston Mass shooting, the DoD IG also found that the Army’s failure to follow its own policies had a direct impact on the risk of this tragic outcome.  The Report found that the failure to report violent threats “could increase the risks of additional violent incident by Service members, such as what occurred with SFC Card on October 25, 2023.”

Why This Matters in the Lewiston Shooting

In the Lewiston case, questions have long surrounded what warnings were given, who knew about them, and whether proper action was taken. The DoD OIG’s findings show that the problem is not only about whether individuals followed procedures, but that there was a system failure on the part of the Army in training its personnel on mandatory reporting policies, supervising personnel to ensure that such policies were followed, enforcing their policies and disciplining those who failed to follow them.

This report underscores how systemic shortcomings in military policy contributed to an environment where red flags could be missed or ignored.

Our Perspective

At Gideon Asen, we represent victims and families who deserve answers and accountability. The DoD’s own Inspector General has now confirmed what we have been saying: the systems in place to protect the public from known threats were inadequate.

The release of this report is an important step toward transparency, but transparency alone is not justice. Reform must follow. Families devastated by preventable violence should not have to endure the loss that the people of Lewiston continue to carry.

Read the Full Report

You can access the DoD Inspector General’s report here