Court rules Army not liable for shooting by young recruit

By Milan Simonich, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette A federal court says the U.S. Army is not liable for more than $1 million in medical bills for Michael Lahoff, who was left a quadriplegic after being robbed and shot by a young Army recruit in Downtown Pittsburgh. Three judges from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit against the Army that was brought by an insurance company that is paying for Mr. Lahoff's medical care and lost wages. Continental Casualty Co. claimed the Army, under pressure to meet recruiting quotas, signed up an unstable 18-year-old named Marty Allen Armstrong and inadvertently gave him access to a pistol. Mr. Armstrong enlisted in the Army's delayed entry program while a student at Peabody High School. The Army recruited him even though court records showed he had been charged with... [read full story]