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LEWISTON, Maine — Authorities spent Monday piecing 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.
Those same authorities in Maine are facing growing scrutiny over how the shooter was able to keep his guns and remain on the street despite exhibiting signs that he might commit violent acts.
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.
Authorities have not said whether they believe the 40-year-old Card planned his shooting rampage in advance. But nearly three months ago, he tried and failed to acquire a device used to quiet gunshots, according to a gun shop owner in Auburn.
Rick LaChapelle, owner of Coast Defense Firearms, said Card purchased a suppressor, also called a silencer, online and arranged to pick it up at his shop.
Card already had submitted information to the federal government to purchase it, and federal authorities had approved the sale to that point, he said.
On Aug. 5, when Card filled out the form at LaChapelle's gun shop to pick up the silencer, he answered "yes" to the question: "Have you ever been adjudicated as a mental defective OR have you ever been committed to a mental institution?"
"As soon as he answered that 'yes' we know automatically that this is disqualifying, he's not getting a silencer today," LaChapelle said.
Silencers are more heavily regulated under federal law than most firearms. Federal law requires buyers to apply with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and be approved. The typical wait time is between six and eight months, said Mark Collins, federal policy director at the gun-violence prevention group Brady.
After the ATF approves the application, the silencer is sent to a licensed firearm dealer, where the buyer is required to fill out another form required for any firearm purchase. The dealer then has to run a background check.
That form asks questions similar to the paperwork required to buy a gun. In Card's case, he likely would have completed the original federal paperwork months before he was committed to the mental health facility in July.
LaChapelle said he does not know when Card made the online purchase.
The store owner said Card was polite when notified of the denial, mentioned something about the military and said he would "come right back" after consulting his lawyer.
Investigators are still searching for a motive for the massacre, but have increasingly focused on Card's mental health history.
State Department of Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck has said Card believed "people were talking about him and there may even have been some voices at play."
Family members of Card told federal investigators that he had recently discussed hearing voices and became more focused on the bowling alley and bar where the shootings took place, 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 13, shocking both the nation and a community where guns are prevalent, but gun violence is rare.
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 Card after he made threats against his base and fellow soldiers. But ultimately, after a visit to Card's home, police moved on.
The body of Card was found late Friday in a trailer at a recycling center in Lisbon Falls. Card died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound though it was unclear when, authorities said.
Authorities recovered a multitude of weapons while searching for Card and believe he had legally purchased his guns, including those recovered in his car and near his body, said Jim Ferguson, the special agent in charge of the Boston office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He declined to discuss any specifics.
A stay-at-home order in place during the massive search for Card was lifted Friday afternoon, hours before authorities announced they had found Card's body. On Monday, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said she planned to address the state that afternoon about its coordination with federal and local governments in response to the shooting.
Meanwhile, Lewiston is slowly reopening. Lewiston Public Schools released a limited schedule for the week "with room for reflection as we move forward." Only the staff was returning Monday; students were due back Tuesday. The Lewiston City Hall planned to reopen on Monday afternoon.
The deadliest shootings in Maine's history stunned a state of 1.3 million people that has relatively little violent crime and only 29 killings in all of 2022.
Three of the injured remained in critical condition at Central Maine Medical Center, and a fourth was stable, hospital officials said. Another was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital, and the rest were discharged.
Contributing: Jake Bleiberg, Patrick Whittle, David R. Martin, Matt Rourke and Michael Casey
