Panel investigating Maine’s deadliest shooting to hear from state police

AUGUSTA, Maine — A panel investigating the deadliest shooting in Maine history will hear from state police commanders who led the law enforcement response after 18 people were shot at a bar and bowling alley in Lewiston.

Testimony Thursday from state police chief Col. William Ross and members of the command staff and special teams commanders could shed new light on the Oct. 25 attacks, the aftermath and the search for the gunman.

Tens of thousands of people were ordered to shelter in their homes as police converged on the scene of the shooting and searched for an Army reservist armed with an assault rifle. The shooter, Robert Card, was quickly identified and his abandoned vehicle was found in a nearby community, but he was not located until 48 hours after the shooting, dead by suicide.

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and Attorney General Aaron Frey convened the independent commission to determine whether anything could have been done under existing law to prevent the tragedy, and whether changes are needed to prevent future mass shootings.

Both police and military were warned that Card was suffering from deteriorating mental health in the months before the shooting.

In May, family members alerted police that Card, 40, was descending into paranoia and raised concerns about his access to weapons. In July, Card was hospitalized for two weeks after pushing a fellow reservist and locking himself in a motel room while training in upstate New York. In August, the military banned him from handling weapons while on duty and declared him undeployable.

Then in September, a fellow reservist issued a sharp warning, telling an army officer that Card was “going to commit a mass shooting.”

Army officials later downplayed the warning, but it prompted local police to go to Card’s home in Bowdoin to check on him. The card did not arrive at the door and the deputy said he had no legal authority to knock on the door under Maine’s yellow card law.

The deputy told the committee that an Army official suggested letting the situation “simmer” rather than forcing a confrontation. The deputy also received assurances from Card’s family that they were depriving him of access to weapons.