Mass shooter had numerous run-ins with authorities, showed warning signs

Authorities in Maine continue to piece together the events that led to the worst mass shooting in the state’s history — with the suspect’s record of interaction with police and warning signs involving mental illness and violent threats emerging as key threads.

Robert Card — the suspected shooter who was found dead Friday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound — underwent a mental health evaluation last summer after he began acting erratically at an Army training facility in New York, officials said. A bulletin sent to police shortly after last week’s attack said Card had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks after “hearing voices and threats to shoot up” a military base.

At a news conference last week, police said there was no evidence that the 40-year-old Card had ever been involuntarily committed to a mental health facility, which could’ve made illegal for him to posses guns.

But family members told federal investigators that Card had recently discussed hearing voices, according to law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in order to discuss details of the investigation. Card’s Oct. 25 rampage killed 18 and injured

Police across Maine were alerted just last month to the “veiled threats” by the U.S. Army reservist. Two local law enforcement chiefs told The Associated Press that a statewide awareness alert was sent in mid-september to be on the lookout for Robert Card after he made threats against his base and fellow soldiers. ultimately, after a visit to Card’s home, police moved on.