Two senators from Maine asked the U.S. Army inspector general on Monday to provide a full accounting of interactions with a reservist before he killed 18 people and injured 13 others in the deadliest shooting in the state’s history.
U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, a Republican, and Angus King, an independent, told Lt. Gen. Donna W. Martin in a letter that it’s important to understand “what occurred, or failed to occur” at the federal level, including the Army, before Robert Card opened fire at a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston.
Fellow soldiers expressed concerns about Card’s mental health before the Oct. 25 shootings. One of them sent a text message in September saying, “I believe he’s going to snap and do a mass shooting,” according to law enforcement.
The senators view their federal request as working in tandem with an independent commission that Democratic Gov. Janet Mills is convening to explore the facts related to the shooting, including the police response.
“As we continue to grieve the needless loss of life that day, we must work to fully understand what happened — and what could have been done differently that might have prevented this tragedy — on the local, state, and federal levels,” the senators wrote.
The senators posed several questions including under what circumstances the Army reports personnel to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and when the Army seeks to invoke state laws to temporarily remove firearms from a soldier’s possession.
An Army spokesperson confirmed that the letter was received and that the inspector general will “work towards getting a response.” The spokesperson had no further comment.
Concerns over Card’s mental health during military training led to a 14-day hospitalization at the Four Winds Psychiatric Hospital in Katonah, New York, last summer. The worries continued after Card returned home to Maine.
A deputy visited Card’s Bowdoin home twice, once with an additional deputy for backup, to perform a wellness check in September but Card never came to the door, officials said. What happened after that is unclear. The sheriff’s office canceled its statewide alert seeking help locating Card a week before the killings.
(AP)
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One Response
He was on psychiatric drugs. What do you expect? Watch the films As Prescribed and Medicating Normal. Read Dr. Peter Breggin and Robert Whitaker’s books etc. Do some research. Search YouTube and hear people’s horror stories or listen to relatives/friends talking about the horrors of their friend/relative because the one that was drugged up can’t talk because he or she is no longer among the living due to suicide. We are talking about neurotoxins. We are talking about drugs that do not allow the brain to function normally. Yes, you’ll tell me that you know this one or that one that seems to be doing well, but that doesn’t mean anything because there are many people who’ve been smoking for many years and seem to be doing just fine and the smoker will say that smoking helps him and it probably does but it’s still not recommended.