A military investigation found “multiple failures” leading up to the deaths of 18 people in a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine at the hands of an Army reservist whose declining mental health had been known to local police and military leaders for months.
The investigative findings, which were released to the public in redacted form by the U.S. Army on Tuesday, resulted in discipline for “dereliction of duty” against three officers in the chain of command of Robert Card II, the reservist who opened fire at a Lewiston bowling alley and restaurant in October 2023. After a two-day manhunt, Card was found dead by suicide.
“There were a number of communication breakdowns within his unit,” said Lt. Gen. Jody Daniels, the Army Reserve chief, during a briefing for journalists about the investigation’s findings.
The investigation revealed several new details about the events leading up to October’s massacre, including:
- Months before the incident, a court hearing that could have led to Card’s involuntary commitment in a psychiatric hospital was canceled for unclear reasons.
- Card admitted to mental health professionals he had a “hit list.”
- Just six weeks before the shooting, Card told a fellow reservist he “could take out 100 people with this expensive scope” he bought, and listed different places he could “shoot up.” These comments were made around the same time military leaders took steps to alert local law enforcement about Card’s behavior.
Much of the findings revolved around the aftermath of Card’s hospitalization in a New York mental health facility which ended in August 2023 under what the Army called “questionable circumstances.”
Card was treated at Four Winds Hospital for 19 days after his Army leaders ordered him to receive treatment due to his threatening behavior during a training assignment at the Camp Smith training center near West Point.
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During his hospitalization at the civilian facility, the investigation found that health care professionals documented Card acknowledged he had a ‘hit list.’ They diagnosed him with “brief psychotic disorder” and recommended that Card’s personally-owned weapons be removed from his home and access.
The investigating officer said Four Winds did not cooperate with the Army Reserve investigation, leaving the military unable to determine why a court hearing to involuntarily commit Card was canceled and why he was discharged the day after the hearing should have taken place.
Several in chain of command disciplined for administrative failings
The report found that Card’s chain of command erred by not initiating a required investigation to document his condition and hospital stay, by failing to understand their authority to receive information from the hospital about his treatment, and by failing to submit critical incident reports.
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The Army Reserve declined to name the three officers who were disciplined, except to say that they were “in the rank of colonel and below,” and that their punishment can “effectively preclude military advancement for these officers.”
Report criticizes law enforcement response to reported threat
The Army’s investigative report echoed the concerns about local law enforcement’s efforts to contact Card in the weeks before the shooting, which was also raised earlier this year, by the Maine state commission investigating the circumstances leading up to the Lewiston killings.
In September 2023, a Sagadahoc County sheriff’s deputy attempted to do welfare checks at Card’s home at the request of Army Reserve leaders when Card’s friend told them he was afraid Card would “snap” and commit a mass shooting. The deputy never made contact with Card, and because he could not take him into custody, he did not initiate proceedings under Maine’s “yellow flag” law to temporarily remove his firearms.
“Local law enforcement authorities in Maine could have conducted a more extensive welfare check and follow-through in September 2023 and better employed the Maine Yellow Flag Law to prevent harm,” the military investigation found.
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The deputy involved, Aaron Skolfield, told Scripps News earlier this year he did not do more to pursue a yellow flag order in part because Card’s military leaders downplayed the mass shooting threat when he spoke with them. The state commission asked one of the military leaders Skolfield had spoken with, Captain Jeremy Reamer, about these allegations and he said it was not his intention to downplay anything.
When asked by Scripps News if the Army Reserve believed leaders downplayed the threat, Lt. Gen. Daniels said she did not know.
“I was not there,” she said.
Recommended changes include new policies, retraining
Military leaders summarized the road ahead by noting the Army is committed to working with Congress and local and federal governments “to prevent tragedies like this from occurring.”
The investigation also recommended a slew of administrative changes including procedural changes, retraining, and “new policies to better handle the complexities of behavior health care for our USAR soldiers.”
Still, they underscored that because Card was a reservist, the military had only limited control over him. He was not on duty when the mass shooting occurred.
“He was a civilian who also happened to be in the U.S. Army Reserve,” the report found.
Investigators referred their findings to the government’s Defense Health Agency to determine whether Four Winds Hospital met the standard of care in Card’s case, and if not, whether the military should remove the hospital as an authorized treatment facility.
According to the Army report, the hospital told military investigators it could not provide certain information about Card’s care without a waiver from his estate or a court order. Scripps News reached out to Four Winds for comment but did not hear back.
Investigation finds little related to gunman’s reported brain injury
The military investigation stopped short of making a determination about whether brain damage found during a Boston University study may have been caused by Card’s Army Reserve training duties. Instead, the Army referred its findings to military medical experts for a future review.
Card’s family released the findings of the study in March, saying in a statement, “We hope to raise awareness of traumatic brain injury among military service members.”
The military’s investigation found that while he was exposed to concussive forces as a grenade range instructor, his records “do not indicate any significant brain trauma occurred while in a duty status,” adding that investigators “defer to the experts at Walter Reed on whether they can draw a connection” between Card’s brain injuries and his exposure to concussive forces.
The report also noted that the gunman fell from the roof of his home in 2008 and broke his neck, “possibly leading to a traumatic brain injury,” while again deferring to experts on whether such an injury may have affected his mental health in the months leading up to the attacks in 2023.
Response from Sen. Susan Collins
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she was briefed and believed reports into the shootings "have answered some important questions," but added other questions need additional investigation.
She added that Congress has a role to play in the aftermath of the shooting.
"I am working on legislation, joined by Senator King and informed by the findings in these reports, that would direct the military to fully utilize state crisis intervention programs to help prevent future tragedies like this one, while also protecting the Second Amendment and due process rights of all of our service members," she said. "We are exploring ways to advance our bill, including through the annual National Defense Authorization Act."
