Current:Home > FinanceAuthorities had cause to take Maine gunman into custody before mass shooting, commission finds-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
Authorities had cause to take Maine gunman into custody before mass shooting, commission finds
lotradecoin dashboard View Date:2024-12-25 14:47:37
An independent commission investigating a mass shooting last year that left 18 dead in Maine issued an interim report Friday that found that a sheriff's office had cause to take the killer into custody beforehand and take away his guns.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and Attorney General Aaron Frey had assembled the commission to review both the events leading up to Oct. 25, when Army reservist Robert Card killed 18 people in a bowling alley and a bar, and the response to the attack.
Led by a former chief justice of Maine's highest court, the commission also included a former U.S. attorney and the former chief forensic psychologist for the state. It held seven sessions starting in November, hearing from law enforcement, survivors and victims' family members and members of the U.S. Army Reserve, as it explored whether anything could have been done to prevent the mass shooting and what changes should be made going forward.
Card, who was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot after a two-day search, was well known to law enforcement, and his family and fellow service members had raised concerns about his behavior, deteriorating mental health and potential for violence before the shootings.
In May, relatives warned police that Card had grown paranoid, and they expressed concern about his access to guns.
In July, Card was hospitalized in a psychiatric unit for two weeks after shoving a fellow reservist and locking himself in a motel room.
In August, the Army barred him from handling weapons while on duty and declared him nondeployable.
And in September, a fellow reservist texted an Army supervisor about his growing concerns about Card, saying, "I believe he's going to snap and do a mass shooting."
But law enforcement officials told commission members that Maine's yellow flag law makes it difficult to remove guns from potentially dangerous people.
"I couldn't get him to the door. I can't make him open the door," said Sgt. Aaron Skolfield, who visited Card's home for a welfare check in September. "If I had kicked in the door, that would've been a violation of the law."
In later testimony, those involved in the manhunt for Card that terrified residents in the shooting's aftermath acknowledged potential missed opportunities to find him.
Some of the most emotional testimony came from family members who tearfully described scenes of blood, chaos and panic followed by unfathomable loss.
Rachael Sloat, who was engaged to be married to shooting victim Peton Berwer Ross, told the committee that her heart breaks every time their 2-year-old daughter asks for her daddy.
"Where are you?" Sloat said. "Every politician, every member of law enforcement, every registered voter in the country —I want you to hear those words. 'Where are you?' Because my fellow Americans, where are you? We failed my little girl."
- In:
- Mass Shooting
- Maine
veryGood! (65)
Related
- Bristol Palin Shares 15-Year-Old Son Tripp Has Moved Back to Alaska
- Group behind Supreme Court affirmative action cases files lawsuit against West Point over admissions policies
- Kraft is recalling some American cheese slices over potential choking hazard
- Man who shot Black teen who mistakenly went to his door enters not guilty plea; trial is scheduled
- Wally Amos, 88, of cookie fame, died at home in Hawaii. He lost Famous Amos but found other success
- Stock market today: Asian shares track Wall Street’s slump after Fed says rates may stay high in ’24
- Pilot killed when crop-dusting plane crashes in North Dakota cornfield, officials say
- After leaving bipartisan voting information group, Virginia announces new data-sharing agreements
- Big Georgia county to start charging some costs to people who challenge the eligibility of voters
- Pennsylvania’s Senate wants an earlier 2024 presidential primary, partly to have a say on nominees
Ranking
- US Army intelligence analyst pleads guilty to selling military secrets to China
- Candidate's livestreamed sex videos a distraction from high-stakes election, some Virginia Democrats say
- Tenor Stephen Gould dies at age 61 after being diagnosed with bile duct cancer
- The suspect in the ambush killing of a Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy is set to appear in court
- US Army intelligence analyst pleads guilty to selling military secrets to China
- Trump’s New York hush-money criminal trial could overlap with state’s presidential primary
- What Biden's unwavering support for autoworkers in UAW strike says about the 2024 election
- Biden administration announces $600M to produce COVID tests and will reopen website to order them
Recommendation
-
Red Cross blood inventory plummets 25% in July, impacted by heat and record low donations
-
UN chief warns of ‘gates of hell’ in climate summit, but carbon polluting nations stay silent
-
Oklahoma man made hundreds of ghost guns for Mexican cartel
-
Orphaned newborn otter rescued after deadly orca attack: The pup started crying out for its mother
-
Wildfires are growing under climate change, and their smoke threatens farmworkers, study says
-
'DWTS' Mirrorball Trophy is renamed for judge Len Goodman. What else is new on dancing show?
-
UK leader Rishi Sunak delays ban on new gas and diesel cars by 5 years
-
Group behind Supreme Court affirmative action cases files lawsuit against West Point over admissions policies