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Man wanted for Maine mass shooting battled with mental health
Lisa Chiu in Washington
Police officers stop to question a driver at a roadblock, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lisbon, Maine, during a manhunt for the suspect of Wednesday's mass shootings. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Police officers stop to question a driver at a roadblock, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lisbon, Maine, during a manhunt for the suspect of Wednesday's mass shootings. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Police officers stop to question a driver at a roadblock, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lisbon, Maine, during a manhunt for the suspect of Wednesday's mass shootings. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Learn more about Robert Card, the man wanted by police for the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine on Wednesday, Oct. 25.

Card, 40, is a petroleum supply specialist for the U.S. Army Reserves based out of Saco, Maine. The job entails supervising and managing fuel supplies to cars and planes.

He enlisted in December 2002, an Army spokesperson said. As a reservist, he serves part time one weekend a month and two-weeks each year. He has an active military ID that would give him access to any military base, police said.

He has been awarded the Army Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal twice, Humanitarian Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and Army Service Ribbon. He has no combat deployments, officials said.

An internal police bulletin from the Main Information Analysis Center had initially said Card was a firearms instructor, but a later bulletin said that they now had "no evidence" that Card had been an instructor or received advanced weapons training.

He was enrolled at the University of Maine and studied engineering technology from 2001 to 2004, but did not graduate.

Card's account on X, formerly Twitter, has been suspended, but according to a Heavy.com analysis before it was taken down, Card followed prominent conservative politicians and pundits, including Donald Trump Jr. and Tucker Carlson. He also followed and liked posts by Elon Musk, Mark Cuban, and a University of Maine professor who studies terrorism.

In March, he liked a tweet by Trump that read, “Given the incredible rise of trans/non-binary mass shooters in the last few years… by far the largest group committing as a percentage of population… maybe, rather than talking about guns we should be talking about lunatics pushing their gender affirming bulls*** on our kids?”

In this image taken from video released by the Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office, shows the d gunman pointing a gun while entering Sparetime Recreation in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, Oct 25. (Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office via AP)
In this image taken from video released by the Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office, shows the d gunman pointing a gun while entering Sparetime Recreation in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, Oct 25. (Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office via AP)

In this image taken from video released by the Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office, shows the d gunman pointing a gun while entering Sparetime Recreation in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, Oct 25. (Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office via AP)

MENTAL HEALTH

While Card was deployed to Camp Smith Training Center in upstate New York in July he began "behaving erratically" a Dept. of Defense official told ABC News.

Card had made threats to shoot up the base and said he was hearing voices, police responding to the current manhunt said.

His unit commanders requested law enforcement assistance out of concern for his safety. New York State Police officers then transported Card to Keller Army Community Hospital at West Point for medical evaluation, ABC reports.

He spent two weeks undergoing in-patient psychiatric treatment and was released in July.

In recent weeks his family had raised concerns about his mental health with the Army Reserves, MSNBC reports.

After he was fitted for high-powered hearing aids two months, he began hearing voices saying "horrible" things about him, his sister-in-law told NBC News.

News station WGME reported that the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office, in Bath, Maine said they have had "interactions" with Card in the past.

FIREARM PURCHASE

The weapon Card allegedly used in the attack was a sniper rifle with .308 caliber bullets. It was purchased legally this year, NBC News reports.

There are no permit requirements for gun owners to have open or concealed weapons in Maine.

Unlike neighbors Connecticut and Massachusetts, Maine does not bar assault rifles or limit high-capacity magazines.

In June, the state legislature heard a bill that would require background checks for private gun sales and create a 72-hour waiting period before a purchase.

That bill was effectively killed by the state Senate.

In 2016 a ballot measure that would require background checks for gun sales failed with 51.8 percent of voters opposed.

Maine does have a "yellow flag" law for people facing mental challenges and are considered a danger. However in addition to a police officer or a person asking a judge to remove someone's guns, the state also requires an evaluation from a medical professional.

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