As investigators continue to delve into the events leading up to last week’s mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, it’s becoming clear that there were significant warning signs about the alleged gunman, Army reservist Robert Card, and his potential to commit violence.
The New York Times reports that the Sagadahoc County sheriff’s office in Maine as well as the Army Reserve were aware of 40-year-old Card’s declining mental health, but that there appears to be no evidence that he was ever reached by law-enforcement officials prior to him carrying out the deadly attack.
According to CNN, officers from the Kennebec County and Sagadahoc County sheriff’s offices went to Card’s home on September 16 after the U.S. Army requested that he be checked on. The officers were unsuccessful in their attempt to reach him. They later learned that a fellow soldier had concerns that Card was “going to snap and commit a mass shooting.”
Last Wednesday evening, Card allegedly opened fire at Schemengees Bar and Grille and then at a bowling alley, Just-In-Time Recreation. 18 people were killed in the shootings, the victims ranging in age from 14 to 76. After a two-day long manhunt that kept the city of Lewiston on lockdown, Card was eventually found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a trailer at a recycling center where he once worked.
Members of Card’s family reportedly raised concerns about his well-being months earlier. In an incident report from the sheriff’s office, Card’s son and ex-wife spoke to a school-resource officer about their worries back on May 3. According to ABC News, Sagadahoc County deputy Chad Carleton wrote that Card’s son believed his father was “likely hearing voices or starting to experience paranoia” and that he would “start to claim that people around them were talking about him” even if there was no one in their vicinity.
Members of Card’s Army Reserve unit also knew about his problems. ABC reports that Card got into an altercation with some of his fellow reservists back in July, accusing them of calling him a pedophile and physically fighting one man who was considered to be a friend of Card’s. According to an email to the sheriff’s office from a member of the unit, Card was evaluated by an Army psychologist and later taken to Four Winds Hospital where he stayed for two weeks.
Though all the guns Card owned were legally obtained, there appears to be at least one instance where he was refused a purchase. Per the Times, Card attempted to buy a gun silencer back in August but was denied after he disclosed on a form that he had mental-health issues. Rick LaChapelle, the owner of Coastal Defense Firearms in Auburn, Maine, said Card was “very cordial” despite not being allowed to make the purchase.
“He says, ‘Not a problem. Okay, let me have my attorney look at it, and I’ll just come back and get it later on,’” LaChapelle told the Times. “Then he left the store and never came back.”
