Maine shooter signaled to police during check in that fellow reservists were afraid of him

The gunman in Maine’s deadliest mass shooting told New York State Police that his fellow Army reservists feared him, according to body camera footage.

The footage, obtained by WMTW-TV under the New York State Freedom of Information Act, shows reservist Robert Card telling the police officer who accompanied him to the hospital last summer that people kept gossiping about him behind his back. He was seen saying that he was there.

“They’re scared because I’m going to do something. Because I’m capable,” Card said, the Associated Press reported.

In October 2023, Card opened fire at two locations in Lewiston, Maine, at both a bowling alley and a bar, killing 18 people and injuring 13 others. He was found dead in the woods from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after a multi-day manhunt across the state.

The body camera footage was recorded on July 16, before he spent two weeks at Keller Army Hospital for psychiatric evaluation.

Maine State Police also recently released new information from the investigation. Three days before the shooting, Card wrote in a note on his cell phone that he had “enough” and warned that he had been “trained to hurt people,” according to the Associated Press.

Eight of his fellow reservists have been authorized to testify at an upcoming meeting of the independent commission’s investigation. The Army is also conducting its own investigation.

Liz Seal, who lost her husband in the shooting, said she found the footage disturbing. Her body camera footage shows that “the system was unable to reliably remove the gun from Card, despite clear warning signs that Card posed a danger to others.” she told The Associated Press.

The tape and the resulting investigation further support claims that police and the Army were fully warned that Card had mental health issues well before the October shooting, according to the Associated Press. It’s highlighted.

His family expressed concern to police in May that he was becoming paranoid and worried about his access to a gun. One co-worker described him as a “gun nut,” and another said she was worried he would hurt himself or others.

The Associated Press contributed.