LEWISTON, Maine — Maine State Police have released the findings of an independent review of its response to the Lewiston mass shooting.
Eighteen people were killed when 40-year-old Robert Card opened fire at two locations he'd frequented—a bowling alley and a cornhole league hosted by a bar and grill—on Oct. 25, 2023. An additional 13 people were injured. Card was found dead by suicide two days later.
On Sept. 6, 2024, Maine State Police Colonel William Ross requested that the New England State Police Administrator's Conference conduct an independent review of the Maine State Police After Action Review of the tragedy.
State police agencies in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Vermont participated in this review. The focus of the review was specific to the AAR document itself and was not intended to be a second after-action review of the incident.
Independent Review of Maine State Police After Action Review (Includes Responses from Maine State Police)
Maine State Police After Action Review
These reports are different from the report done by the Independent Commission to Investigate the Facts of the Tragedy in Lewiston, which was a commission appointed by Gov. Janet Mills and Attorney General Aaron Frey with the goal of determining the facts of the shootings, including the months preceding the shootings and the police response to them. That report found that there were ample opportunities to intervene by both civilian law enforcement and the Army.
Final Report of the Independent Commission to Investigate the Facts of the Tragedy In Lewiston
"Colonel Ross and his team look forward to utilizing all of the feedback detailed in the commission’s report, our own after-action report and the attached independent review to start the implementation phase of this process," Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss said Thursday in a press release. "Continued training, policy review and collaboration with partner agencies from across the first responder spectrum is imperative and will be ongoing."
