Maine shooter Robert Card says he has “something” to do during welfare check, three months before killing 18 people inside a bar and bowling alley in the deadliest mass shooting in the state’s history He told police he had “competence.”
The mysterious statement was made in July when New York State Police executed an order to take Mr. Card to Counseling Services at the West Point Army Facility before ultimately transferring him to a civilian psychiatric hospital. Body camera footage obtained by WMTW Show.
The move came after members of his Army Reserve unit told authorities they were concerned about his mental state.
“I hope you understand that they are calling us because they are concerned enough about your well-being,” one of the officers told Card.
“Oh, because they’re scared — because I’m going to do something. Because I have the ability,” Card replied. The trooper then asks Card what that means, to which Card replies, “Nothing.”
Concerns about the 40-year-old Army reservist’s mental health arose three months before he shot and killed 18 people in Lewiston, Maine, sparking a massive investigation that ended in suicide.
“Our concern is that he may be a danger to himself or others,” the reservist said, according to the newspaper.
The reservists, whose names and faces have been redacted, recounted their long-standing friendship with Card, a relationship strained by Card’s poor mental health.
“He spent a lot of money on guns. He spent $14 on a scope,” the reservist told police.
Card told officers that he had been hearing people talking about him and spreading rumors that he was gay and a pedophile. Officers told him he had been ordered to speak to a counselor at a military hospital.
Later, one of the members asked Card if he planned to retire from the Reserves, to which Card replied, “I hope so.”
“Don’t do anything that will jeopardize that, okay?” the officer replies.
Weeks before the horrific massacre on October 25, 2023, Card’s best friend sent a text message to his boss expressing fear that Card would “open fire and cause a mass shooting.” But by that point, Card’s mental breakdown had already been well-documented by loved ones and family. Law enforcement.
Card allegedly shot and killed an unsuspecting victim before fleeing in a car, where he was later found abandoned at a waterfront in a nearby town, sparking an intense two-day manhunt.
His body was discovered on October 27th in the overflow parking lot of the Maine Recycling Corporation.
Card suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but the coroner determined it was “likely” that she had been shot eight to 12 hours before her body was discovered.
His motive for the massacre remains a mystery, but authorities are investigating his history of extensive mental health problems.
