Army, sheriff's office blamed for missing warning signs of Maine mass shooter Robert Card: report

The Army Reserve and Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) share blame for not noticing problematic behavior from Maine mass shooter Robert Card. That is the conclusion of the final report by an independent commission to investigate the facts of the tragedy in Lewiston obtained by Fox News on Tuesday. 

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 40-year-old Card.

The commission, created by Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, announced its conclusions at Lewiston City Hall, less than 3 miles from the two sites where the shootings took place on Oct. 25, 2023. Eighteen people were killed and 13 others were wounded.

"The commission unanimously found that there were several opportunities that, if taken, might have changed the course of these tragic events," independent commission chair Dan Wathen said at a press conference. 

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"The leaders of his Army Reserve unit failed to exercise their authority over him and to undertake necessary steps to reduce the threat he posed to the public," Wathen continued. "Card's commanding officer knew of his auditory hallucinations and increasingly aggressive behavior. Collection of guns. Ominous comments about his intentions. Despite their knowledge, they ignored the strong recommendation of Card's mental health providers to stay engaged with his care and take steps to remove weapons from his home."

Army spokesperson Bryce Dubee said in a statement to Fox News Digital that the U.S. Army Reserve Command conducted their own probe, which also revealed leadership failures.

"The Army Reserve’s investigation found errors made by unit leadership, and recommended appropriate administrative action be taken against three officers in Card’s chain of command for dereliction of duty," the statement reads. "This action has already been completed. Additionally, the Army Reserve’s investigation also recommended updates to standard operating procedures, retraining, and policies to better handle the complexities of behavior health care for our USAR soldiers."

Dubee said the Army Reserve is "deeply saddened" by what happened, and "is instituting policy changes to its Psychological Health Program and is communicating changes and lessons learned to Pre-Command Courses and Army Reserve Senior Leader Orientation." and working to make "sound changes to prevent tragedies like this from recurring."

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The commission also believes that in September 2023, SCSO had "had sufficient probable cause to take Card into protective custody under Maine’s yellow flag law and to initiate a petition to confiscate any firearms he possessed or over which he had control."

The commission's report recommends the Maine State Police conduct a full, after-action review by an independent entity with policing expertise that could make professional recommendations about policy, protocol and other policing improvements.  

Card was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound near a dumpster at a recycling plant in Libson Falls, Maine, where he once worked, on Oct. 27.

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Maine’s legislature passed new gun laws for the state, which has a tradition of hunting and firearms ownership, after the shootings. A three-day waiting period for gun purchases went into effect this month.

Ben Gideon, a lawyer for survivors and relatives of those who died, described the shooting as a dangerous intersection of gun ownership and mental illness.

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"At the end of the day, what happened here was a pairing of someone who was known to be paranoid, delusional and suffering from a diagnosed psychosis with someone who owned numerous weapons of warfare, including six semiautomatic assault weapons," he told reporters.

SCSO did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. 

FOX News' Kitty Le Claire, Adam Sabes and The Associated Press contributed to this report.