Shortcomings in mental health treatment, weak laws and a reluctance to threaten personal liberties can derail even concerted attempts to thwart mass shootings.
Robert Card displayed a textbook set of warning signs: He was hearing voices. He told people that he was planning violence. And his behavior had markedly changed in the months leading up to the mass shooting he carried out last week. His family, his superiors in the military and local police knew all of this. Yet no one stopped him. His killing of 18 people with a semi-automatic rifle in Lewiston, Maine, points to how shortcomings in the mental health system, weak laws and a reluctance to threat