The Army reservist who killed 18 people in the deadliest mass shooting in Maine’s history and sparked a massive manhunt before being found dead last year had suffered a traumatic brain injury, NewsScan reported. It became clear.
A brain tissue analysis by Boston University researchers published Wednesday found that Robert Card suffered from traumatic injuries, including degeneration of nerve fibers that allow communication between different areas of the brain, inflammation, and damage to small blood vessels. There was significant evidence of brain damage.
The analysis was conducted by Dr. Ann McKee of the Boston University Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center and presented by Card’s family. This came ahead of Army officials appearing Thursday before a special committee investigating the Oct. 25 shooting incident.
Mr Card was an instructor at an Army grenade training range, where he is believed to have been exposed to thousands of low-level explosions.
Maine commission hears from families of Lewiston shooting victims
This image was taken from New York State Police body camera video obtained by WMTW-TV 8 in Portland, Maine, on July 16, 2023 in Cortland, New York. An interview with Robert Card. (WMTW-TV 8/New York State Police, via AP)
“Robert Card had evidence of a traumatic brain injury. The white matter, the nerve fibers that enable communication between different areas of the brain, had significant degeneration, loss of axons and myelin, inflammation, and small There was vascular damage, evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE),” McKee said in a statement released through the Concussion Legacy Foundation.
“These findings are consistent with previous studies on the effects of blast injury in humans and experimental models,” she added. “While we cannot be certain that these pathological findings underlie Mr. Card’s behavioral changes during the first 10 months of his life, based on previous research, we believe that brain damage may be contributing to his symptoms. there is.”
Card’s family also apologized for the attack in a statement, saying, “To all the victims, survivors, and their loved ones, and to all those in Maine and beyond who have been affected and traumatized by this tragedy. , how deeply disappointed and heartbroken we are.”
“While we know this does not fully explain Robert’s actions and does not excuse the horrific suffering he caused, it is important to note that his brain damage and the impact it has had on his mental health and behavior are significant. We would like to thank Dr. McKee for helping us understand what this impact may have been.” I have written. “By publishing these findings, we hope to raise awareness of traumatic brain injury among military personnel and encourage further research and support for military personnel who have sustained traumatic brain injury.” Our hearts are with the victims, survivors and their families.”
A body is carried away on a stretcher at Skimenzie’s Bar and Grill in Lewiston, Maine, on October 26, 2023. Army officials are scheduled to testify Thursday, March 7, 2024, before the task force investigating Maine’s deadliest mass shooting. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bucati, File)
Robert Card Manhunt: At least 18 people killed in mass shooting; Maine State Police appeal to public for information
The family also thanked the Maine Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for requesting the brain analysis.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has created a commission made up of former judges and prosecutors to review the facts and police response surrounding the Oct. 25 shooting. Police and the Army had been alerted in the months leading up to the shooting that Card was suffering from a deteriorating mental state.
Some of Card’s relatives, 40, alerted police that he was exhibiting paranoid behavior and were concerned about his access to guns.
Taped cordon off road to Skeem Gy’s Bar and Grill as law enforcement officers remain present following a shooting by Army reservist Robert Card in Lewiston, Maine, Oct. 27, 2023 The police stand up. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Body camera footage of police interviewing reservists with Card before he was hospitalized for two weeks in upstate New York last summer shows fellow reservists expressing concern and alarm about his behavior and weight loss. It was also visible that there were some people there. Mr. Card was hospitalized in July after he shoved his fellow reservists during training and locked himself in a motel room.
Then in September, a fellow reservist told a senior Army officer that he feared Card would “fire his gun and cause a mass shooting.” Card was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after the largest manhunt in state history.
Thursday’s hearing in Augusta is the seventh and final hearing currently scheduled before the commission. Commission Chairman Daniel Wasen said at a hearing with victims earlier this week that an interim report could be released by April 1.
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Maine Democrats are considering reforming the state’s gun laws in the wake of mass shootings.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
