Robert Card was known to law enforcement. We knew that during the manhunt for the Army reservists and trained firearm instructor who killed at least 18 people on October 25. Card opened fire at two locations before disappearing: Schemengees Bar and Grille and Spare Time Recreation (also known as Just-in-Time), a bowling alley. The search lasted for two days before police discovered his body. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Card had a two-week stint at a mental health facility in the summer of 2023 after hearing voices and making threats to shoot up a National Guard base in Saco. Law enforcement knew the suspect, and he had a history of severe mental illness, two things that keep occurring when it comes to mass shooters. And there’s more to the former: police knew he made violent threats in September (via Associated Press):
Police across Maine were alerted just last month to “veiled threats” by the U.S. Army reservist who would go on to carry out the worst mass shooting in the state’s history, one of a string of missed red flags that preceded the massacre.
Two local law enforcement chiefs told The Associated Press that a statewide awareness alert was sent in mid-September to be on the lookout for Robert Card after the firearms instructor made threats against his base and fellow soldiers. But after stepped-up patrols of the base and a visit to Card’s home – neither of which turned up any sign of him – they moved on.
“We added extra patrols, we did that for about two weeks. ... The guy never showed up,” said Jack Clements, the police chief in Saco, home to the U.S. Army Reserve base where Card trained.
Yet, we’re not going to get into any of this because the media establishment only wants to talk about guns, white dudes, and other immaterial points to push a gun control narrative, per usual. No doubt, as more details present themselves, we will find out this shooting was preventable.