Maine mass shooting investigative report details failures

A Maine special commission investigating the state’s deadliest mass shooting released its final investigative report Tuesday, nearly 10 months after a member of the Army Reserve, Robert Card, shot and killed 18 people at a bowling alley and a restaurant in Lewiston.

“[Robert Card] is solely responsible for his own conduct. He caused the deaths and injuries inflicted that night. Although he might still have committed a mass shooting even if someone had managed to remove Card’s firearms before October 25, 2023, there were several opportunities that, if taken, might have changed the course of events,” the Independent Commission to Investigate the Facts of the Tragedy in Lewiston wrote in its report.

The commission, a group of seven experts appointed by the state governor and attorney general, was established in November 2023 to examine the circumstances of the shooting, including what happened before, during, and after the mass killing.

The commission placed some blame on the Army Reserve in its review, saying members of Card’s military unit “failed to undertake necessary steps to reduce the threat he posed to the public.”

RELATED STORY | Sheriff defends agency after failed attempts to remove guns from eventual mass shooter

The report said Card’s commanding officers were “well aware of his auditory hallucinations, increasingly aggressive behavior, collection of guns, and ominous comments about his intentions. Despite their knowledge, they ignored the strong recommendations of Card’s Army mental health providers to stay engaged with his care and ‘(make) sure that steps are taken to remove weapons’ from his home.” The commission previously released an interim report in March, in which the group of experts reviewing the incident pointed a finger at the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office for failing to confront the shooter and remove his guns during a welfare check in the month before the massacre.

The Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office is the agency located in the jurisdiction where Card lived prior to the shooting. According to the commission’s interim review, an SCSO deputy sergeant, Aaron Skolfield, “made only limited attempts to accomplish a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Card” when he attempted a welfare check on Card at his home but was unable to make contact with him.

The commission unanimously found Skolfield had sufficient probable cause to take Card into protective custody under Maine’s yellow flag law, a law that paves the way for law enforcement to remove someone’s guns when they pose a foreseeable risk of harm.

Skolfield disputed the commission’s finding in an interview with Scripps News earlier this year.

RELATED STORY | Less than a year after Maine mass shooting, new gun law goes into effect

“Obviously, I feel for the families of Lewiston, and I feel awful about that,” Skolfield told Scripps News. “It has taken a toll on me. I question a lot of things now. I look at things through a hyper-vigilant light that I wouldn’t have necessarily looked at them through before.”

The commission’s final report released Tuesday also examined the law enforcement response to the mass shooting and the ensuing two-day manhunt for the shooter, calling the challenges they faced “unprecedented.”

“Many law enforcement officers demonstrated bravery and professionalism in the face of danger,” the commission wrote, encouraging a “full after-action review” to be conducted by the Maine State Police.

“Not only would a full after-action review allow for professional recommendations about policy, protocol, and other policing improvements, it would likely confirm what this Commission recognizes as positive and successful examples of the law enforcement response.”