Army, Police Missed Chances To Intervene Before Gunman Killed 18 In Mass Shootings

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Both the Army Reserve and local police missed out on opportunities to intervene in a gunman’s psychiatric crisis and seize weapons from the spiraling reservist responsible for the deadliest shootings in Maine history, according to the final report released Tuesday by a special commission created to investigate the attacks, which killed 18 people.

The independent commission, which held more than a dozen public meetings, heard from scores of witnesses and reviewed thousands of pages of evidence, cited shortcomings by police for failing to take the gunman’s weapons and by the Army Reserve for failing to provide proper care for the 40-year-old gunman, Robert Card.

The commission, created by Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, announced its conclusions at Lewiston City Hall, less than 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the two sites where the shootings took place Oct. 25, 2023.

The 215-page report reiterated the panel’s conclusion from an interim finding in March that law enforcement had authority under the state’s yellow flag law to seize the shooter’s guns and put him in protective custody weeks before the shootings. But it also said the Army Reserve should have done more, as well, to ensure care and deal with the weapons.

Daniel Wathen, chair of the commission, started his remarks by acknowledging the victims. “None of us can begin to imagine the pain you people have experienced on that terrible day,” he said.

He said it’s impossible know if the tragedy would have happened if police and the Army had done a better job. He also said police did their best to respond to the tragedy but noted that there was “utter chaos” when hundreds of police officers poured into the region.

Wathen defended the commission’s decision