- Robert Card, the Army reservist responsible for Maine’s deadliest mass shooting, had expressed concerns to New York State Police about his mental state before being hospitalized last summer.
- Card told the men that his fellow soldiers were worried about him, saying, “They’re scared because I’m going to do something. I’m capable.” Told.
- Police body camera video showed Card in distress and said people were talking about him behind his back.
The Army reservist responsible for one of Maine’s deadliest mass shootings told New York State Police before he was hospitalized last summer that his fellow soldiers were worried he was “like he was going to do something.” .
According to police body camera footage obtained by WMTW-TV and others, reservist Robert Card told police officers who accompanied him to a hospital in upstate New York that fellow reservists and others were behind his back. They continued to talk and said, “This is getting old.” York Freedom of Information Act.
“They’re scared because I’m going to do something. I’m capable of doing something,” Card told a New York State Police trooper.
Maine authorities thought a confrontation with Robert Card in the weeks before the shooting would worsen the situation: video
The release of police body camera video recorded on July 16 followed Thursday’s release of new details by the Maine State Police to an independent commission investigating the tragedy. A search of Card’s cell phone revealed a note he had written three days before the Oct. 25 shooting in which he said “I’ve had enough” during the Lewiston shooting and that he “doesn’t want to hurt people.” “They are trained to do so,” he warned.
This image taken from a New York State Police body camera video in Portland, Maine, shows New York State Police in Maine’s deadliest mass shooting at Camp Smith in Cortland, New York, on July 16, 2023. Interviewing the culprit, Army reservist Robert Card. . (WMTW-TV 8/New York State Police, via AP)
The 40-year-old card killed 18 people and injured 13 others at a bowling alley and bar, leading to the largest manhunt in state history and forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. Card’s body was discovered two days later. He died by suicide.
Maine State Police defends delays in finding gunman who killed 18 people in Lewiston
Police body camera video showed Card’s gruesome appearance locked in a motel room after an altercation, alarming fellow reservists from Maine. His fellow reservists said he appeared thinner than usual.
Previous state police reports indicated he had been threatening fellow reservists. However, New York State Police said in a statement that he was never taken into custody. Card was taken to Keller Army Hospital for examination by his reservist comrades, and officers followed the private vehicle. Card ended up spending two weeks in a psychiatric hospital.
Police and the army were alerted well before the shooting that Mr Card was suffering from a deteriorating mental health condition.
Family members said in May that Card, 40, had become paranoid and had access to guns before the incident occurred in July while the unit was training in upstate New York. He alerted police that he had expressed concerns about the incident. In August, the Army banned Card from handling weapons on duty and declared him non-deployable.
And in September, a fellow reservist who considered Card a close friend gave a stern warning to a senior Army officer that Card was planning to “shoot up and go on a shooting rampage.”
Card, wearing gym clothes and a military T-shirt, told New York State Police that people had been talking behind his back for about six months. He said people were starting to make rumors that he was gay and a pedophile. He said he had heard snippets of voices talking behind people’s backs and had heard rumors posted online, although he couldn’t find anything online.
Maine shooting suspect Robert Card is found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound
Card also told officers that he was not taking any prescribed medication.
In Maine, Sagadahoc County deputies tried to meet with Card at his home in Bowdoin after being warned that he could “shoot up” the Saco armory, where the reserve unit is based. Mr. Card did not come to the door even though he was thought to be inside, and his attorney said he had the legal authority to break down the door and force an interview to determine whether Mr. Card should be taken into protective custody. He said there was no. The move is needed to invoke Maine’s “yellow flag” law, which allows a judge to temporarily remove someone’s gun during a mental health crisis.
The aide said Army officials suggested “de-escalating” the situation rather than forcing a confrontation. Deputies also received assurances from Mr. Card’s family that they would remove Mr. Card’s access to guns.
