Family Of Lewiston Shooting Suspect Warned Authorities About Erratic Behavior, Report Says - Forbes

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Topline

A family member of Robert Card—the man accused of killing 18 people and injuring 13 more during a multi-location mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday—said the family warned police Card was experiencing an “acute” mental health episode before Wednesday’s shooting, NBC News reported.

Key Facts

Katie Card, who is married to Card’s brother, told NBC News on Thursday that their family alerted both police and Card’s Army Reserve base that he was experiencing what she described as an “acute” mental health episode in the weeks before Wednesday’s shooting.

Card—a 40-year-old firearm instructor who was an Army Reservist—began hearing voices after being fitted for high-powered hearing aids a few months ago, according to Katie Card.

Katie Card said her brother-in-law was experiencing a “manic” belief that everyone was against him—despite his family’ attempt to convince him otherwise.

When Katie Card’s husband reached out to the Army, she said they went “back and forth” and “were following up on it, too” but did not specify exactly what that meant.

Crucial Quote

“He was picking up voices that he had never heard,” Katie Card said of her brother-in-law. “His mind was twisting them around. He was humiliated by the things that he thought were being said.”

What We Don’t Know

As of 4 p.m. Thursday, Card’s whereabouts are still unknown. Authorities in Lewiston expanded their search to include more towns, such as Bowdoin, in the search radius.

Key Background

Just before 7 p.m. Wednesday night, police received a call that a gunman shot dozens of people at Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant and Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley located around four miles away, in the small Maine town of Lewiston. While initially the number of those shot was unclear, police said Thursday that 18 people were killed and 13 people injured. Police have issued an arrest warrant for Card for eight counts of murder—for the eight people who have been identified—and police plan to add ten more counts to that warrant when they identify the other individuals who were killed, State Police Col. William G. Ross said at a press conference Thursday. While the motive and many of the details of exactly what happened still remain unclear, more information about Card and his background has emerged in the hours since the shooting happened. Card works as a firearm instructor at a National Guard facility in Saco, Maine. He was reportedly taken by police for an evaluation in July after acting erratically at West Point, the AP reported.