US Army finds communication failures in leadup to Maine mass shooting

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Three U.S. Army officers were punished for dereliction of duty in the case of Army reservist Robert Card, who shot 18 people to death in Maine last year before taking his own life, a military investigation released on Tuesday said.

The probe said there were multiple communication failures in the leadup to the mass shooting, and found that Card, a sergeant 1st class, suffered from months of deteriorating mental health issues, including hallucinations, before the shooting.

The Oct. 25 shooting spree at a bar and a bowling alley in Lewiston left 18 people dead and 13 wounded in the most lethal episode of gun violence in Maine's history.

Card, a petroleum supply specialist assigned to an Army Reserve unit in the nearby city of Saco, was found dead two days later of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a recycling plant where he once worked.

In the days that followed, it surfaced that his family had contacted the sheriff's office five months earlier to report their concerns about his mental health and that he had access to at least 10 guns.

An Army investigation found that there had been a number of communication failures between military and civilian hospitals, along with Card's chain of command in the military.

"These communication failures impacted SFC (sergeant 1st class) Card's continuity of care," an investigation released on Wednesday said.

It added that the administrative action against the three officers "can effectively preclude further military advancement for these officers."

The investigation highlighted how Card had been suffering from hallucinations in early 2023 and in July was ordered to a behavioral health evaluation at a military hospital.

After he was transferred to the civilian Four Winds Hospital in New York, Card was released after 19 days, in part because a court hearing was canceled that would have allowed Card to be involuntarily committed to the facility.

The investigation said that during August and September, Card would often talk about his weapons and locations he could "shoot up." At one point, it added, he attacked his best friend.

The Army said Walter Reed National Military Medical Center had received part of Card's brain for examination.

In testimony before an independent commission in January, sheriff's officials defended their response to warning signs about Card's mental health, saying their options were limited given that Card had not committed any crime, local media reported at the time.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart;Editing by Alistair Bell)