REVEALED: Maine gunman Robert Card was INVOLUNTARILY committed to mental hospital over the summer after ‘erratic’ behavior while training as Army reservist
Three months before crazed gunman Robert Card slaughtered 18 innocent people in Maine, the veteran was involuntarily committed to a mental health facility while training with his Army Reserve unit.
It was previously widely reported that Card, 40, had mental health issues, but the fact that his summer stay was involuntary was first revealed on Tuesday by the Boston sphere.
Card accused soldiers of calling him a pedophile during a training session in New York, pushing one and locking himself in his room.
The mass murderer spent two weeks in hospital in New York. He returned to Maine on August 3.
After this commitment, Card’s superiors were told that the shooter would not be allowed to handle weapons or participate in live-fire activities during training. Despite that warning, Card could still legally purchase firearms as a citizen.
Upon his return, Card attempted to purchase a silencer for one of his weapons; the fact that he stated in his application that he remained involuntary disqualified him from obtaining the oppressor.
Robert Card, 40, committed mass murder on October 25 at a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine. A week earlier, a police warning describing him as ‘armed and dangerous’ had been withdrawn
People hold candles during a candlelight vigil for the victims of the Lewiston mass shooting as officials are forced to answer questions about the missed opportunities they had to stop Robert Card
Card’s body was found late Friday after a dramatic manhunt in a trailer at a Lisbon Falls recycling center, but it was unclear when he died
A bulletin sent to police shortly after last week’s attack stated that Card had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks after “hearing voices and threats to shoot up a military base ‘.
There has been widespread criticism of the failed efforts to stop the gunman months before he killed 18 people.
‘They missed the boat. It’s that simple. They all dropped the ball,” Leroy Walker Sr., whose son Joseph was killed at Schemengees Bar and Grille in Lewiston, told the Globe.
According to a recently released criminal affidavit, Card had a relationship with a woman he met playing cornhole, his brother said. That relationship ended in February 2023, sending him into a downward spiral, according to the shooter’s sister.
Card’s brother “said that since the relationship ended, Robert started wearing hearing aids and saying crazy things.”
A friend of the killer told police that Card was going to dinner at Schemengees with his former girlfriend and her two young daughters. While there, he began to suspect that customers and the bar’s manager were gossiping that he was a pedophile.
One of the suspects was the bar’s manager, Joey Walker, who was one of the victims of the tragedy.
Card’s sister, meanwhile, told authorities that her brother had stopped taking his mental health medications in the lead-up to the massacre and had lost significant weight.
She said he believed his family was part of a conspiracy against him.
In May, Card’s ex-wife Cara and their son Colby visited police to report their concerns about his mental health and his gun ownership.
No police department or official in Maine has acknowledged missing opportunities to stop the shooting. Above, officials provide an update on Oct. 27 while Card was still on the run
In May, Card’s teenage son Colby and his ex-wife Cara visited police to report their concerns. Colby told the Sagadahoc sheriff that his father was convinced strangers were always talking about him and calling him a pedophile.
Cara Card, Robert’s ex-wife, said she no longer wanted her son to spend time with his father at his home, where he kept 10 to 15 rifles and rifles.
According to the deputy’s report, after visiting Card’s home in September, he contacted the reserve unit commander, who assured him that the Army was trying to get treatment for Card. The commander also said he felt it was “best to give Card some time to himself.”
The deputy then contacted Card’s brother. The brother said he had put Card’s firearms in a gun safe on the family farm and that he would work with their father to move the guns elsewhere and make sure Card couldn’t get any other firearms.
Authorities recovered numerous weapons during the search for Card after the shooting and believe he purchased them legally, including a Ruger SFAR rifle found in his car, officials said Monday.
Near his body were a Smith & Wesson M&P15 rifle and a Smith & Wesson M&P .40-caliber pistol.
Card, 40, told his son he was convinced people were calling him a pedophile behind his back. His brother said his mental health problems were made worse by his hearing aids
In May, Cara and Colby Card, Robert’s ex-wife and son, visited police to express their concerns
This is the warning every police department in Maine received in September about Robert Card. Two attempts were made to contact him and security was added to the army base, but this was canceled on October 18
Rick LaChapelle, owner of Coastal Defense Firearms, said Card bought about Card’s attempted purchase of a silencer online and made an appointment to pick it up at his store.
Card had already provided information to the federal government to purchase it, and federal authorities had approved the sale up to that point, he said.
When Card filled out the form to pick up the silencer at the LaChapelle gun store on August 5, he answered “yes” to the question, “Have you ever been convicted of being mentally ill or committed to a mental institution?”
“As soon as he answered yes, we automatically know that’s disqualifying, he’s not getting a silencer today,” LaChapelle said.
Silencers are more heavily regulated under federal law than most firearms. Federal law requires buyers to apply to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and be approved. The dealer must also conduct a background check.
He said Card was polite when informed of the denial, said something about the military and said he would “be right back” after consulting with his attorney.
Facing increasing public scrutiny, investigators are still searching for a motive for the massacre, but have increasingly focused on Card’s history with mental health.
On Monday, Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, held a news conference to provide an update on the response to the shooting. The conference quickly became contentious when Mills refused to provide information about what the investigation has revealed so far.
Mills said state lawmakers would review Maine’s gun control laws. Proposals for stricter laws have stalled or failed in recent legislative sessions.
“I’m not going to stand here today and tell you that I propose X, Y and Z,” she said. ‘I’m here to listen, work with others and bring people to the table as quickly as possible.’
Authorities have not said whether they believe Card planned the Oct. 25 disaster in advance.
Card’s body was found late Friday in a trailer at a Lisbon Falls recycling center, but it was unclear when he died.
Lewiston residents returned to work Monday morning after gathering to mourn the victims of the shootings.
More than 1,000 people attended the Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul for a vigil in Lewiston.
The deadliest shooting in Maine history has shocked a state of 1.3 million that has relatively few violent crimes and only 29 homicides in all of 2022.
The Lewiston shootings were the 36th mass killing in the U.S. this year, according to a database maintained by AP and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
The database contains every mass murder since 2006 of all weapons that killed four or more people, not including the perpetrator, within a 24-hour period.