Review Finds Police Response to Warnings About Maine Shooter 'Reasonable'

Despite warnings of deteriorating mental health, authorities did not see Robert Card as an imminent threat, leading to a mass shooting that killed 18 people.

Robert Card, the perpetrator of a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, had been flagged by family and Army Reserve colleagues as a potential threat due to his deteriorating mental health.
Despite warnings, local police and the Army Reserve did not see Card as an imminent threat and did not take action to confiscate his weapons or place him in protective custody.
Card opened fire at a bar and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine, in October, killing 18 people and injuring 13 more.
A third-party review found the response of the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office to concerns about Card’s mental health to be 'reasonable' under the circumstances.
The report recommends the sheriff’s office enhance its ability to respond to mental-health related incidents with a new mental health liaison program and potentially a 'multijurisdictional and multidisciplinary mental health response team'.