Army blames officers after Maine shooter Robert Card kills 18 people

Card’s part-time career as a soldier has been the subject of intense scrutiny since it was revealed in the days following the massacre that a soldier in his unit had warned local authorities weeks earlier that Card might “go crazy and commit mass murder.” Card had told family and friends that he had heard voices taunting him, and on the Army’s recommendation, he was briefly committed to a psychiatric hospital in the months before the rampage.

The Army investigation examined Card’s medical history and behavior before the killings to determine whether his military superiors missed opportunities to prevent the tragedy. Senior leaders in his chain of command, whose identities have not been publicly disclosed, were required to report his threats of violence internally but failed to do so, according to a report detailing the investigation. They also did not understand their authority to collect protected medical information or the military regulations that allow them to ask soldiers to store or protect privately owned weapons.

The Army report does not say what Card’s motive is or whether investigators believe his military occupation, which included working at a grenade training range, contributed to his deteriorating mental health. A separate study of his brain concluded that traumatic injuries “likely played a role” in his behavioral changes, and his family said Card was likely exposed to thousands of low-intensity blasts.

Lt. Gen. Jody J. Daniels, the head of the Army Reserve, told reporters in a briefing that Card’s exposure to the explosions was “relatively minor,” but he left it to health experts to make further statements about how the explosions might have affected Card’s condition.

Card had warning signs months before the shooting that his superiors in the Army failed to respond to, the investigation found. In May 2023, for example, family members alerted the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office to Card’s mental health and access to guns. Authorities shared that information with Card’s military commander but did not promptly discuss the issue with him, the investigation found, as they should have.

In July 2023, during two weeks of training for his job in the reserves, Card showed signs of distress and was admitted to a military hospital, the investigation said. Medical staff there referred him to a civilian mental health facility for more comprehensive treatment.

Card spent 19 days at Four Winds Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Katonah, N.Y. Doctors’ notes from that time show Card said he had a “kill list” and talked about killing people, according to the Army investigation. Still, the medical team at Four Winds assessed Card as a “very low risk” of harming himself or others and discharged him in August without consulting his military superiors, investigators said.

The hospital’s release decision was made under “questionable circumstances,” the Army’s investigation said. Daniels told reporters that someone at the facility canceled a court hearing to determine whether Card should be involuntarily committed.

And although the Army Card had barred access to military weapons, it could not force him to surrender his weapons “unless there was a medical diagnosis,” Daniels said. That was waived when Four Winds determined he was not a threat and released him, she said.

The hospital in western New York’s Westchester County did not respond to requests seeking comment. The Army report said the facility did not make anyone available to interview with investigators and that the military had no authority to compel the facility to participate.

Army investigators found “multiple communication deficiencies” both between the military and civilian hospitals that treated Card and within his chain of command – failures that had a direct impact on the “continuity of his care,” the Army report said.

The Army was slow to provide Card with discharge papers from Four Winds, the investigation found, so his immediate superiors were unaware of the extent of his mental health problems – including his homicidal thoughts and resistance to treatment, the investigation found.

Daniels told reporters that military personnel should have initiated an investigation when Card was admitted to the hospital or shortly thereafter to determine whether his condition was service-related.

A particular challenge for reservists, Daniels said, is that they spend very little time in uniform – about 38 days a year – and commanders have limited authority to compel medical care or dictate how reservists store their personal weapons. But “that doesn’t stop us from calling our soldiers, taking care of them and checking in with them,” she said.

There were other moments when Army leadership and police could have intervened, the report said. In September, weeks before the shooting, Card attacked his best friend, a fellow reservist. The friend sent a text message to another member of his unit, urging him to change the passcode at the gate to the base and advising other soldiers to be armed in case they encountered Card.

That case was also referred to the local sheriff’s office, but an individual within the unit who spoke with authorities downplayed the threat posed by Card, the investigation found. The Army report also does not mention that soldier’s name.

A few days later, local authorities visited Card’s home, and although he was home, they did not attempt to conduct a serious welfare check, the report said. The sheriff’s office also did not attempt to enforce a Maine state law that allows a judge to temporarily take away guns from someone in a mental health crisis.

If law enforcement had been more proactive, “the mass shootings and suicides might have been avoided,” the report concluded.

The Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An independent review requested by the sheriff’s office found that officers “acted reasonably” and that they did not have the authority to forcibly enter Card’s home or confiscate his weapons during that visit, despite growing concerns from fellow officers and family members.