Three months ago fatal shooting in Lewiston, Maine, the shooter’s Army Reserve unit leaders said he was “behaving erratically” and the Army decided he should not have a weapon, handle ammunition or “engage in live fire,” according to an Army spokesman .
The Archer, Robert Card, killed 18 people and wounded 13 others in the Oct. 25 shooting at a bar and bowling alley. After a two-day search, he was found dead Friday night with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.
After he underwent a medical evaluation of his conduct while training at the US Military Academy in New York in July, the Army determined he was “non-deployable due to concerns for his welfare,” Lt. Col. Ruth Castro, an Army spokeswoman, said in statement to CBS News. His company commander was notified of the restrictions, according to Castro.
In September, his department asked the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office in southern Maine to conduct a “health and welfare check” on reservistCastro said earlier Monday.
The request was made “out of an abundance of caution as the department was concerned for his safety,” Castro said. She did not provide further details, citing an ongoing Army investigation.
Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry said in a statement Monday night that his office was contacted in May by family members of the reservist concerned about his mental health and access to guns. Mary said a deputy from his office contacted the reservist’s Army Reserve Training Group, “who assured our office that they would ensure (he) received medical attention.”
Mary said in the statement that on two occasions in September, a deputy could not find the reservist at his home in Bowdoin, prompting the sheriff to send out an alert to authorities across the state to look out for him. Before the shooting, he made threats against his military base and other soldiers, according to the AP.
The sheriff’s deputy then contacted his commanding officer and the reservist’s brother, Mary said. He claimed the commanding officer said they were trying to get (the reservist) treatment and that his brother would try to “secure any firearms” the reservist had access to. The alert to other law enforcement agencies to locate the person in question was canceled on October 18 – one week before the mass shooting.
“We believe that our agency acted properly and followed procedures for conducting a location and health check attempt,” Mary wrote.
The shooter was a sergeant first class with the 3rd Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiment based in Saco, Maine, according to the Army. He worked as an oil supply specialist and had no combat missions.
In July, his unit leaders said he had been “behaving erratically” while training at the US Military Academy and asked to contact law enforcement “out of concern for his safety,” an Army National Guard spokesman said of New York before CBS News. A U.S. official said that he did not participate in any training because he started acting erratically almost on the first day.
New York State Police took him to a military hospital at West Point for medical evaluation, according to a National Guard spokesman. State police declined to comment on the incident, citing an active investigation.
According to a Maine law enforcement bulletin seen by CBS News during the the search last week for the shooter, he recently reported “mental health issues,” including “hearing voices and threats to shoot” at a military base.
-Evan Coan contributed reporting.
