Earlier today we told you that the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s office was alerted by the Army Reserve in September that Robert Card might snap and commit a mass shooting.
It’s now been revealed that Card’s own family alerted the Sheriff’s office months earlier in May that his mental health was declining and he had access to guns.
This article from the Boston Globe explains that and also adds more detail to what we told you about this morning:
The family of Robert R. Card II, who committed Maine’s deadliest mass shooting last week, had alerted their local sheriff May 3 that Card had access to firearms at home and that they were “concerned for his well-being” because his mental health had declined in recent months.
The new details about the leadup to the shootings were released Monday evening by the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office, whose jurisdiction included Robert Card’s home in Bowdoin. The statement detailed a months-long timeline that revealed documented concerns about Card’s mental health and access to weapons.
In May, after the family raised concerns, a sheriff’s deputy spoke with representatives from Card’s US Army Reserve base in Saco who connected with Card’s family and assured the sheriff’s office that Card received medical attention, according to the statement from Sheriff Joel Merry.
September…
Months later, in September, Card made threats against the base, and military authorities asked the sheriff’s department to conduct a wellness check at Card’s home, but the reservist was not found.
Merry told the Globe Saturday that, after getting that tip, he sent an “attempt to locate” alert to every law enforcement agency in the state. The alert urged that officers use extreme caution.
On the morning of Sept. 16, a Sagadahoc County deputy and a deputy from Kennebec County returned to Card’s home, where they saw Card’s car, Merry said in the statement. The deputy repeatedly knocked on the door but did not see Card or hear any voices. The deputy said he might have heard someone moving around in the trailer. No one answered the door.
Card no longer had any weapons from the Army Reserve at the time, Merry said, and his commander advised that they were trying to get treatment for Card and that he thought “it best to let Card have time to himself.”
On Sep. 17, a Sagadahoc deputy spoke to Card’s brother, who told law enforcement that he would “work to secure any firearms that Mr. Card had access to.” The deputy also asked that the family call back if they believed that Card needed an evaluation or was a risk to himself or others.
Merry’s original alert to Maine law enforcement agencies was ultimately canceled on Oct. 18, a week before the mass shootings in Lewiston that killed 18 people and injured 13.
“We believe that our agency acted appropriately and followed procedures for conducting an attempt to locate and wellness check,” Merry said in the statement.
Once again a mass shooter falls through the cracks. I’m not sure at this point that anyone can be blamed without knowing more information. I would like to know why the brother was unable to secure Card’s weapons and why he didn’t contact the sheriff’s office again. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation and I’m certainly not pointing the finger at him. This was undoubtedly a difficult situation for all that got way worse on the day of the shootings.