Three Army Reserve officials have been disciplined following the conclusion of an investigation into the details surrounding the Oct. 25, 2023, mass shooting in Maine carried out by Sgt. 1st Class Robert Card .
Card, who joined the Army Reserve in 2002 as a petroleum supply specialist, had displayed a series of distressing signs that concerned his family, friends, and unit, and he was hospitalized briefly, but there were several failures that ultimately allowed for the conditions for him to carry out the shooting that left 18 people dead and another 13 wounded. He killed himself while on the run after the shooting, and his brain, which doctors have studied and continue to, had shown signs of traumatic injury.
The Army released the findings of its investigation into Card and the actions that led up to the shooting on Monday, more than 18 months later.
"This investigation made several findings and subsequent recommendations that I will now cover first, while unit leadership took several consistent and sustained actions to address certain cards deteriorating mental health, his mental state, there were also a series of failures by unit leadership," Lt. Gen. Jody Daniels, chief of Army Reserve and commanding general, U.S. Army Reserve Command, told reporters. "I have held members of the chain of command accountable by taking appropriate administrative actions against the officers found derelict in their duties. These adverse administrative actions have the potential to prevent further military advancements of those officers."
Daniels did not name the officers who were disciplined, which can preclude future military advancement.
The investigation identified “multiple communication failures between military and civilian hospitals, as well as with SFC Card’s chain of command,” which affected his “continuity of care,” the overview of the investigation said.
Investigators found that Card began experiencing “a series of emotional events and behavioral health challenges, including auditory hallucinations,” in the fall of 2022, it said, and over the course of the next several months, he began displaying the signs of paranoia. He accused friends, families, co-workers, and sometimes strangers of talking about him negatively behind his back despite their vehement denials.
By May 2023, his family had reported at least four mental health incidents to a high school resource police officer, who then referred the matter to the relevant law enforcement agency with criminal jurisdiction and that was the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office. He was believed to have 10 to 15 guns at his residence.
Local police informed Card’s chain of command about his deteriorating mental health on May 3, 2023. He attended mandatory training in June, where he ultimately “demonstrated signs of deteriorating mental state.” His command ordered him to undergo a Behavioral Health Evaluation at Keller Army Community Hospital at West Point and medical professionals determined he needed a higher level of care, so they transported him to Four Winds Hospital.
Card spent from July 16, 2023, to Aug. 3, 2023, at the Four Winds Hospital, where he was diagnosed with a “brief psychotic disorder.” He was ultimately released on Aug. 3, though hospital staff declined to speak with investigators so why he was released remains unclear.
"This investigation was unable to determine the reason for SFC Card's release due to the hospital staff declining to speak with the investigating officer," the report reads.
Card told a nurse care manager from Keller Hospital on August 11 that he stopped taking his prescribed medications because it made him feel lazy, eight days after he was released from the hospital.
By Sept. 14, 2023, Card “violently assaulted his best friend” due to his auditory hallucinations and the friend contacted Card’s chain of command and expressed his concern that Card could carry out a mass shooting. They notified law enforcement of the threat within 24 hours.
The county sheriff’s office announced in the aftermath of the shooting that after receiving an email from his unit, a deputy did a wellness check on Card on Sept. 15, but he was not there. They came back the next day and while no one answered the door, the deputy said he may have heard someone moving inside.
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On Oct. 25, Card entered a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston, Maine, and started shooting people in what became the deadliest shooting in the state's history.
The victims of the shooting were: Ronald G. Morin, 55; Peyton Brewer-Ross, 40; Joshua A. Seal, 36; Bryan M. MacFarlane, 41; Joseph Lawrence Walker, 57; Arthur Fred Strout, 42; Maxx A. Hathaway, 35; Stephen M. Vozzella, 45; Thomas Ryan Conrad, 34; Michael R. Deslauries II, 51; Jason Adam Walker, 51; Tricia C. Asselin, 53; William A. Young, 44; Aaron Young, 14; Robert E. Violette, 76; Lucille M. Violette, 73; William Frank Brackett, 48; Keith D. Macneir, 64.
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