ME state police to debate Lewiston mass taking pictures with investigative panel

• A panel investigating the deadliest taking pictures in Maine’s historical past will hear testimony from state police commanders who led the regulation enforcement response.
• The testimony, scheduled for Thursday, goals to offer perception into the assaults, aftermath and the seek for the gunman, Robert Card.
• Tens of hundreds of individuals have been ordered to shelter as police looked for Card, an Military reservist armed with an assault rifle.

A panel investigating the deadliest taking pictures in Maine’s historical past is about to listen to from commanders with state police, which led the multi-agency regulation enforcement response after 18 individuals have been gunned down at a bar and bowling alley in Lewiston.

Testimony on Thursday from the state police chief, Col. William Ross, and members of the command employees and commanders of specialty groups might shed new gentle on the Oct. 25 assaults, the aftermath and the seek for the gunman.

Tens of hundreds of individuals have been ordered to shelter of their properties as police converged on the websites of the shootings and looked for an Military reservist armed with an assault rifle. The gunman, Robert Card, was rapidly recognized, and his deserted automobile was present in a close-by neighborhood, however he wasn’t situated till 48 hours after the taking pictures, lifeless from suicide.

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Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and Lawyer Common Aaron Frey assembled the impartial fee to find out whether or not something might have been finished below current regulation to stop the tragedy, and whether or not adjustments are wanted to stop future mass taking pictures incidents.

Rain-soaked memorials for many who died in a mass taking pictures sit alongside the roadside by Schemengees Bar & Grille, on Oct. 30, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. An impartial fee investigating this deadliest taking pictures in Maine historical past is about to listen to from state police on Feb. 15, 2024, the lead regulation enforcement company. (AP Picture/Matt York, File)

Each police and the Military have been warned that Card was affected by deteriorating mental heath within the months earlier than the taking pictures.

In Might, relations warned police that the 40-year-old Card was sinking into paranoia, they usually expressed concern about his entry to weapons. In July, Card was hospitalized for 2 weeks after shoving a fellow reservist and locking himself in a motel room throughout coaching in upstate New York. In August, the Military barred him from dealing with weapons on obligation and declared him nondeployable.

LEWISTON, MAINE SHOOTING INVESTIGATION COMMISSION SEEKS TO OBTAIN GUNMAN’S MILITARY RECORDS

Then in September, a fellow reservist supplied a stark warning, telling an Military superior that Card was going to “snap and do a mass shooting.”

Military officers later downplayed the warning, nevertheless it prompted native police to go to Card’s dwelling in Bowdoin to examine on him. Card did not come to the door and the deputy mentioned he did not have authorized authority below Maine’s yellow card regulation to knock within the door.

The deputy informed the fee that an Military official urged letting the scenario “simmer” reasonably than forcing a confrontation. The deputy additionally acquired assurances from Card’s household that they have been eradicating his entry to weapons.