Shooting in Lewiston, Maine: Commission concludes that “several opportunities” to prevent the shooting were missed

CNN
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An independent commission investigating the shooting spree in Lewiston, Maine, last October concluded that the local sheriff's office and the leadership of the gunman's Army Reserve unit failed to take steps that could have prevented the shooting.

While Robert Card was “solely responsible” for the shootings – which left 18 people dead and 13 others injured at two crime scenes – the commission's final report found that the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office had probable cause to use Maine's Yellow Flag Law to begin seizing the shooter's firearms in September 2023, a month before the shooting, but it did not do so.

In addition, the commission found that leaders of Card's Army Reserve Unit ignored recommendations from Card's psychiatrists to remove weapons from his home. Commanding officers also did not share all information about Card's troubling behavior with the sheriff's office, which may have prompted them to change their course of action, the report said.

“Although he might still have committed mass murder even if someone had managed to take Card's firearms before October 25, 2023,” the report said, “there were several opportunities that, if seized, could have changed the course of events.”

CNN has reached out to the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Army for a comment.

“All of us, and certainly everyone here, wish we could go back and change what happened in the months, weeks, days and minutes before the tragedy on October 25,” said Daniel Wathen, chairman of the commission, at a press conference on Tuesday. “We cannot. But we can look forward.”

The report notes that the commission's mission is not to propose policy changes or amendments to state laws or operational changes in agencies, but to focus on the facts “so that the public, law enforcement, military leadership, and elected and appointed officials can make informed decisions and reduce the risk of further tragedies of this kind.”

“Our investigation and the information and findings presented in this final report are intended to bring the truth to the families of the victims, the injured and the people of our state,” Wathen said. “We hope that this truth will aid the healing process while allowing the public and policymakers to learn from mistakes.”

Governor Janet Mills reiterated this in a statement, saying the ability of Maine residents to heal depends “on the ability to know and understand as much as possible the facts and circumstances of the tragedy in Lewiston.”

“I look forward to reviewing the final report in detail next week,” Mills said, “and I will share my views with the people of Maine after I read and evaluate it.”

To reach its conclusions, the commission, which had the power to issue subpoenas, interviewed witnesses, first responders and victims, according to the report. They reviewed thousands of pages of reports and records, hundreds of videos and photos, maps and hundreds more pages of text and email messages. Over the course of nine months, the commission held 16 public hearings, the commission reported.

The release of the report follows a separate U.S. Army report in July that said there were a series of errors and breakdowns in communication between Card's military chain of command, civilian law enforcement and medical personnel before the shooting. Although it noted that Card's superiors had only “limited jurisdiction” over him – reservists are on duty an average of 40 days a year – three people in the shooter's chain of command were disciplined, officials said at the time.

The The commission's findings, released Tuesday, echo an interim report released in March that also said the sheriff's office failed to enforce the state's yellow flag law, which could have been used to disarm Card.

The law – a looser version of the better-known red flag laws in other states – was designed specifically for people like Card who showed signs of a mental health crisis and posed a threat, gun policy experts previously told CNN. But authorities instead relied on Card's family to withhold his guns after unsuccessful attempts to talk to him, the interim report said.

According to authorities, Card went on a rampage with an assault rifle at a bowling alley and a bar on October 25, 2023, killing 18 people and injuring 13 others.

By analyzing surveillance camera footage from the bowling alley, the commission found that Card fired 18 shots in 45 seconds, killing eight people and wounding three others. In the bar, Card fired 36 shots in 78 seconds, killing ten people and wounding ten others, according to the report.

The manhunt for Card ended two days later when he was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

In the aftermath, the governor and Attorney General Aaron Frey announced that an independent commission would investigate the shooting and the events leading up to it, most notably a months-long series of incidents that highlighted the reservist's deteriorating mental health and the growing concerns of his family members, who repeatedly contacted authorities to express concerns about his well-being and access to firearms.

The report came to the following conclusions:

Card's 17-year-old son and his ex-wife first brought their concerns to law enforcement in May 2023, telling a school security officer that Card was hearing voices, exhibiting paranoid behavior, and having temper tantrums. The school security officer contacted the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office, and a deputy contacted the highest-ranking noncommissioned officer in Card's Army Reserve Unit.

Members of the unit noticed behavioral changes in Card, the official said, and told the deputy they would address Card during an upcoming “fight meeting.” However, there is no evidence that any conversation with Card was attempted.

Meanwhile, Card's sister also sought help. Between May and July, she left five voicemail messages with the Army Reserve unit to express her family's concerns. None of the messages were answered.

In July, after an altercation with other reservists, Card was admitted to Keller Army Community Hospital in West Point, New York, where he was diagnosed with “unspecified psychosis.” The doctor recommended that Card's superiors declare Card unfit for duty and “take steps to safely remove all firearms and weapons.”

Card was then transferred to another hospital in Katonah, New York, where he was treated for two weeks, the commission found. During that time, he acknowledged he was on a “hit list” and said after his release in early August that he would participate in his treatment, take medications and seek help from family and friends.

In September, a friend of Card's informed his commanding officer that Card had attacked him and threatened to “firebomb” his Army Reserve facility in Saco. However, the commanding officer did nothing and did not share the information with anyone else in the unit.

The report also describes the efforts of a Sagadahoc County Sheriff's sergeant who made several unsuccessful attempts to contact Card in mid-September after police in Ellsworth, Maine, raised concerns. However, the sergeant went on vacation after a few days and considered the issue “resolved,” the report said. His supervisor agreed with the sergeant's judgment.

The commission's report found that both the sheriff's office and the Army Reserve unit leadership had numerous opportunities to reduce the “risk” of the October 25 tragedy.

The sheriff's office could have requested compulsory treatment, and while that wouldn't have prevented Card from obtaining firearms, it could have bought them time, the report said. In addition, the sheriff's office had sufficient information to enforce the Yellow Flag Order – the information it had was “more extensive than the information that formed the basis for many 'Yellow Flag' orders” that law enforcement in the state of Maine received before September 2023, the report said.

The commission also found that the sheriff's office failed to follow up on the matter in October, when its new mental health liaison officer was fully trained. The sheriff's office would have learned, the report said, that Card's mental health had not improved and he still had access to weapons. Had Card refused to cooperate with the liaison officer, the sheriff's office would have had probable cause to take him into protective custody and initiate the Yellow Flag process.

Regarding the Army Reserve, the report cited the unit's failure to meet with Card in May and June 2023, its members' failure to respond to voicemails from Card's sister, and its failure to follow up with him after Card's hospitalization – which it described as “the appropriate first steps to evaluate and assist Card.”

In addition, neither the Army Reserve Unit nor the Sheriff's Office fully utilized the full range of mental health resources and services available, the report said.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN's Amanda Musa, Rebekah Riess and Haley Britzky contributed to this report.