SAGADAHOC COUNTY, Maine — In the weeks and months before the horrific massacre in Lewiston, documents show family members and the Army Reserve expressed concern about what they believed was the deteriorating mental health of and worked to get guns away from the man who would become the gunman – killing 18 and wounding 13 more.
Documents obtained on Tuesday detail incident reports by two sheriff's deputies in Sagadahoc County who talked with family members and the U.S. Army Reserve about what appeared to be a steady decline in the gunman's mental health and concern over his possession of firearms.
May 2023
On May 3, a deputy went to Mt. Ararat High School and met with the son of Lewiston gunman Robert Card in the office of the school resource officer, according to an incident report from the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office.
Card's son detailed his father's struggles with mental health, stating Robert Card claimed to be hearing voices of people talking about him as far back as January. His son said Robert would become agitated, claiming people were saying derogatory things about him, "such as calling him a pedophile," documents show.
Two or three weeks before meeting with the deputy, Card's son said he stopped by to visit his father at home and Robert became very angry, accusing his son of saying things about him behind his back.
In that meeting, Card's ex-wife voiced concern for Robert's mental health and flagged to the deputy that Robert had recently picked up 10-15 handguns and rifles that had previously been stored at his brother's house.
Card's ex-wife told the deputy she would reach out to Card's brother for help, and the deputy told her they would reach out to Robert's commanding officer at the Army Reserve Center in Saco, documents show.
An administrator at the Army Reserve Center told the deputy there had been "considerable concern" for Robert and it sounded like they were aware of his recent mental health decline. The deputy then left a message with Robert's commanding officer.
When the deputy touched bases again with Card's ex-wife, she said Robert's brother claimed to her he was unaware his brother was hearing voices but brought up Robert's heavy drinking and that he apparently went on angry rants about having to shoot someone.
When the deputy got a call back from Robert's commanding officer, he told the deputy that Robert had been accusing other soldiers of "calling him a sex offender," documents show. Robert's commanding officer said he would work with his captain to figure out how to get Robert help.
The deputy later connected with Card's brother, who said he didn't realize his brother had picked up those guns from his home and was concerned by that.
On May 4, the deputy was informed that some family members went to Card's home in Bowdoin the night before, and Card answered the door with a gun in hand. But after that, the conversation with him "went very well" and Robert agreed to see a doctor about his paranoia and the voices he was hearing.
After regrouping with Card's commanding officer over the phone, the deputy was told that their plan was to sit down with Robert "in the near future" and see if they could get him to open up about what was going on.
The deputy said of that conversation, "I specifically warned about the fact Robert had allegedly answered the door with a gun yesterday."
July 2023
On July 15, the U.S. Army says that Card traveled with his Army Reserve unit to Camp Smith, New York, for annual training. Shortly after they arrived, Card's unit leadership had Card taken to a military medical treatment facility – Keller Army Community Hospital – at West Point in New York.
On July 17, the Army said Card was at Four Winds Hospital, a civilian hospital, in New York.
August 2023
On Aug. 3, the Army said Card returned home to Maine.
September 2023
In the time since the first incident report on Card in May, another deputy with the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office filed a new report saying Card had been committed to a mental health facility over the summer for a couple of weeks due to the state he was in, but he'd since been released.
On Sept. 15, that deputy received a complaint from the Maine National Guard asking for a welfare check to be made on Robert Card. The Guard noted that Card was making threats to shoot up the Saco National Guard facility.
The deputy went to Card's home but did not locate him there and no car was in the driveway. That deputy filed a missing person's report. In that Sept. 15 report, the deputy flagged "CAUTION OFFICER SAFETY - KNOWN TO BE ARMED AND DANGEROUS" and advised law enforcement to "use extreme caution" when dealing with Card.
On Sept. 16, the deputy returned to Card's home and a vehicle was there. The deputy called for a deputy from Kennebec County, a neighboring jurisdiction, to back him up, and they attempted to contact card, the incident report says.
The deputy said they could hear Card moving around inside, but he would not come to the door.
"Due to being in a very disadvantageous position we decided to back away," the deputy's report says.
According to that Sept. 15 incident report, that deputy contacted the Army Reserve Center in Saco and was told that Card did not have any of the Reserve Unit's weapons and that they had made arrangements with Card's brother who had "retrieved the personal weapons" from Card.
Capt. Jeremy Reamer, according to the report, told the deputy that Card has previously not answered the door in that manner, and: "After he keeps to himself for a while he will come back out." The deputy wrote in his report that the captain "thought it best to let Card have time to himself for a bit."
On Sept. 17, the deputy's report says that he contacted Card's brother who confirmed to him that he was able to get the guns from Card and put them in a family safe at the Card farm. Card's brother also said he was working with his father to have the guns moved elsewhere.
The report says, "I expressed to [Card's brother] that it was our intention to make sure Robert does not do anything to hurt himself or others. If and when [Card's brother] does communicate with his brother to make his own judgement as to whether Robert needs an evaluation. If he thought that Robert did to call us back and we would work with him to help facilitate that."
"It should also be known that [Card's brother] told me when Robert answers the door at his trailer, in the past he usually does so with a handgun in hand out of view from the person outside," the report continued. "I was later contacted by [Card's brother] he told me that between him and his father they would work to ensure that Robert does not have access to any firearms. They have a way to secure his weapons."
October 2023
On Oct. 18 – exactly one week before Card killed 18 people and wounded 13 others in an armed rampage – for unknown reasons, the missing persons report filed on Sept. 15 by the deputy with the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office, was canceled.
The Sagadahoc County Sheriff said his department never actually made contact with Robert Card.