Report cites failures before massacre
Sheriff ’s office should have taken guns, detained reservist, Maine panel says
‘There were several opportunities that, if taken, may have changed the course of events.’
COMMISSION REPORT, citing the office of Sheriff Joel Merry (left)
A state commission investigating the mass shooting in Lewiston issued a searing indictment of the Sagadahoc County Sheriff ’s Office Friday, saying it had probable cause to place Robert R. Card in protective custody and remove his firearms in the month before he killed 18 people on Oct. 25.
A 30-page interim report cited multiple failures by officers in both the sheriff ’s department and at the US Army Reserve unit, where Card’s erratic and threatening behavior so alarmed his superiors they had him evaluated at a psychiatric facility in the summer of 2023.
In one episode the commission noted that a Sagadahoc deputy’s decision to instead have Card’s relatives try to remove his guns, despite knowing he was suffering from mental illness and had threatened to commit mass shootings, was an “abdication of law enforcement’s responsibility.”
The commission, convened by Governor Janet Mills in November to investigate the shooting, was unanimous in its finding the Sagadahoc Sheriff ’s Office could have taken Card into custody under Maine’s “yellow flag” law, which is designed to temporarily remove firearms from those in mental health crisis who pose a risk to themselves or others, the report said.
“Robert Card Jr, is solely responsible for his own conduct, and he may have committed a mass shooting even if the guns he possessed in September 2023 were removed from his house,” the com
mission said. “Nevertheless, there were several opportunities that, if taken, may have changed the course of events.”
Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry did not immediately return messages seeking comment Friday.
The commission, led by a retired chief justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, held seven public hearings and heard testimony from law enforcement as well as witnesses and victims, in addition to reviewing “over a terabyte” of electronic records.
“Nothing we do can ever change what happened on that terrible day, but knowing the facts can help provide the answers that the victims, their families, and the people of Maine need and deserve,” the commission chair, Daniel E. Wathen, said in a statement Friday.
An earlier review ordered by the Sagadahoc Sheriff ’s Department found the department acted appropriately.
Members of the sheriff ’s office defended their response to concerns about Card during a hearing before the commission in January, at which Merry said his deputies were warned by “those who knew Card” not to engage directly with him during wellness checks and “believed that the matter with Mr. Card had been resolved.” Officials also argued they had no legal way to take him into protective custody.
Travis Brennan, an attorney for about 90 Lewiston shooting survivors and families of victims, said in an interview they appreciated the commission’s report, but noted its scope was limited.
Brennan said they look forward to the commission’s final report, as well as separate investigations by the Army Reserve and the Army’s inspector general. He said information that has come to light so far shows many different people and agencies were aware of concerns about Card’s behavior and access to guns.
“We know the system failed here because someone who was suffering from a mental health crisis and making overt threats to shoot up a military base was permitted to keep his weapons, and was able to use those weapons to deadly effect,” Brennan said.
Card, an Army reservist, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound following a twoday search after the shootings at a bar and a bowling alley in Lewiston.
Fellow reservists, as well as members of Card’s family, had expressed concerns to law enforcement about his deteriorating mental health and collection of firearms in the months leading up to the shooting.
Family members told Sagadahoc sheriff ’s deputies in May that Card had shown signs of mental psychosis going back to early 2023 and that he had recently obtained up to 15 guns from his brother’s home. Last summer, he was hospitalized in a psychiatric facility after making threats against members of his Army Reserve unit, according to sheriff ’s department reports.
Sheriff’s deputies tried to speak with Card at his home in Bowdoin, Maine, on Sept. 16, but no one answered the door, even as they heard someone moving around inside. The deputies phoned Card’s commanding officer in the Army Reserve, who told them he felt it was best to leave Card “to himself for a bit,” according to previous reports.
The commission singled out one Sagadahoc County officer in particular, Sergeant Aaron Skolfield. Commissioners said Skolfield should had realized that he had probable cause to start the yellow flag process. Skolfield had information that Card had serious mental illness, had been hospitalized for two weeks, had access to numerous guns, had assaulted a friend, and threatened to commit shootings. Instead Skolfield left it to Card’s brother to remove his guns.
The sheriff ’s office also left it to Card’s family to assess whether he needed a mental health evaluation and did not make any plans to follow up.
“This responsibility was that of the [Sagadahoc County Sheriff ’s Office], not that of Mr. Card’s family. That is what the yellow flag law is for — it places this responsibility on law enforcement,” the commission said.
Skolfield also could not be reached for comment.
It also criticized Jeremy Reamer, a captain in Card’s Army unit who is also a police officer in Nashua, for failing to share recommendations that Card’s weapons be removed from his home, the report said.
The mental health professionals who evaluated Card during the summer recommended to Army officials he not be allowed access to military weapons and said they were concerned about his access to firearms at home, the report said.
“They also explicitly recommended to Capt. Reamer that ‘measures be taken to safely remove all firearms and weapons’ from Mr. Card’s home,” the commission wrote.
Reamer did not report this information to the Sagadahoc sheriff ’s office, the report said.
Benjamin Gideon, one of the attorneys representing Lewiston survivors and victims’ families, said he agreed with the commission’s assessment there was sufficient cause to enact Maine’s yellow flag Law, but argued the law itself places too much emphasis on the discretion of officers.
During several hearings by the commission, members of local and state law enforcement argued the state’s unique yellow flag law is complex and can be difficult to implement. The commission’s report notes “the Yellow Flag process may sometimes be cumbersome,” but adds the process has been successfully used prior to and after the Oct. 25 shooting.
Gideon said in an interview the commission seems to “extol the benefits” of the yellow flag law, even though it “obviously did not work in this case.” He said the interim report seems to place full blame on the local sheriff ’s department, paying insufficient attention to several other points during which Card’s access to guns may have been restricted.
“If preventing the next mass shooting depends on small sheriff’s departments exercising Maine’s current version of the yellow flag law with incomplete information, as this one did, that system is likely to fail more times than it is likely to succeed in my view,” Gideon said.
Wendy Bell, whose brother Bill Young and nephew Aaron Young were killed at the bowling alley, said none of the findings was a surprise.
“And while I’m glad that they investigated it, and named a mistake, that mistake led to the deaths of 18 people and shattered our lives,” Bell said in a text Friday evening. “It won’t bring any of the victims back.”
Leroy Walker Sr., whose son Joseph Walker died while charging Card as the gunman opened fire at Schemengees Bar & Grille, said the interim report was a confirmation of what many people have learned since the shooting.
Walker said the last few months have not been easy.
“It cuts to the heart. It makes the tears roll,” Walker said. “We’re taking it one step at a time.”