LEWISTON, Maine (WGME) — The search for the Maine mass shooter may be over but the investigation is far from it.
Robert Card’s body was found Friday night at a recycling plant in Lisbon. Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck said Saturday during a news conference that the motive is still unclear, but mental health is a key factor.
“I think clearly there is a mental health component to this,” he said. “We still need to do some research of trying to get access to certain records and things of that nature.”
Card’s mental state was addressed including what led to him allegedly opening fire in the first place, killing 18 people and injuring 13 others at a bowling alley and bar. Sauschuck said paranoia could have played a role.
“From what I’ve read, from what I’ve seen, the individual felt like people were talking about him,” he said. “It may even appear that there were some voices in play here. We don’t believe that any of that is accurate. I think that led him specifically back to those two specific locations.”
Concerns about Card from commanders in the Army Reserve have surfaced since the shooting, leading to tough questions about Maine’s “yellow flag” law. The law outlines several steps that have to be taken before a weapon can be removed from a person who poses a danger to themselves or others.
While Card was institutionalized for two weeks this past summer, it’s not clear if he was committed by someone else forcibly at any point, which is required to apply the yellow flag law.
WGME report Johnny Maffei asked during the conference, “You say you don’t know about any forceable mental health visits or there were not any forceable mental health visits?”
“There are none that I’m aware of,” Sauschuck said. “We’ve had people check and told me that they haven’t found those so if they exist I’m sure we’ll continue to dig and try and find them but I haven’t found them.”
We’re learning there may have been, from a local source high up in law enforcement that we have, if you find that the yellow flag law should’ve been enacted how will you hold those responsible?” Maffei asked.
“That’s a pretty good hypothetical from whoever your source is,” Sauschuck said. “We’ll have to look at the actual snapshot in time. The yellow flag law in the state of Maine is very specific about an individual that’s in protective custody, from law enforcement to begin with and do we have probable cause to believe that they are in possession? They could be in possession of dangerous weapons.”
Shots first rang out around 6:56 p.m. Wednesday, when police say calls came in that a man walked into Just-in-Time Recreation on Mollison Street in Lewiston and began shooting.
At 7:08 p.m., police say they received multiple calls that a man had come into Schemengees Bar and Grille Restaurant on Lincoln Street and began shooting.
“My broader question would be will you work to try to prevent things like this from happening in the future?” Maffei questioned.
“I would tell you that the weapons restrictions order has been used in Maine 82 times It has been effective to this point,” Sauschuck said. “And it’s certainly something we’re always looking at, can we tweak it, can we make things better?”
Investigators will be at the bar and bowling alley at least through the weekend searching “every square inch.”