Robert Card, a reserve soldier who killed 18 people in the US state of Maine in October last year, had significant evidence of traumatic brain injuries, according to a published analysis of brain tissue by Boston University researchers. on Wednesday.
There was degeneration in the nerve fibers that allow communication between different areas of the brain, inflammation and damage to small blood vessels, explained Dr. Ann McKee, of the Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center at Boston University. The analysis was published by Card's family.
The gunman had been an instructor at an Army hand grenade training camp, where he is believed to have been exposed to thousands of low-level explosions. "Although I cannot say with certainty that these pathological findings underlie Mr. Card's behavioral changes in the last ten months of life, based on our previous work, the brain injury likely played a role in his symptoms," McKee said. in the family statement. Card's family members also apologized for the attack in the statement, saying they are heartbroken for the victims, survivors and their loved ones.
Army officials will testify Thursday before a special commission investigating the deadliest mass shooting in Maine history. The commission, established by Democratic Governor Janet Mills, is reviewing the events surrounding the October 25 shootings that left 18 people dead at a bowling alley and a restaurant and bar in the town of Lewiston.
The police response to the shootings is also being reviewed. Both the police and the military were warned that the shooter, Card, was suffering from deteriorating mental health in the months preceding the shootings. Some of Card's relatives, 40, warned police that he was displaying paranoid behavior and that they were concerned about his access to guns. Body camera video of police interviews with reservists before Card's two-week hospitalization in upstate New York last summer also showed other colleagues expressing concern and alarm about his behavior and weight loss.
Card was hospitalized in July after shoving a reservist and locking himself in a motel room during training. Later in September, a colleague told an Army superior that he was worried Card was going to “break out and do a mass shooting.”
Card was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after the largest search in state history. Victims' families, politicians, gun control advocates and others have said in the months since the shootings that authorities missed several opportunities to intercede and remove Card's guns. They have also raised questions about the state's mental health system.
Thursday's hearing in Augusta is the seventh and last currently scheduled for the commission. Commission chairman Daniel Wathen said at one of the hearings with victims earlier this week that an interim report could be released by April 1.
In previous hearings, law enforcement officials defended the approach they took with Card in the months before the shootings. Members of the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office testified that the state's yellow flag law makes it difficult to take guns away from a potentially dangerous person.
Maine Democrats are seeking to make changes to the state's gun laws in the wake of the shootings. Mills wants to change state law to allow authorities to go directly to a judge to request a protective custody order to detain a dangerous person and take away their weapons. Other Democrats in Maine have proposed a 72-hour waiting period for most gun purchases.
Gun regulation advocates held a gun safety rally in Augusta earlier this week. “Gun violence represents a significant public health emergency. It is through a combination of meaningful gun safety reform and investment in public health that we can keep our communities safe," said Nacole Palmer, executive director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition.
