The Sagadahoc County, Maine, deputy who has faced criticism from all angles for failing to prevent Maine’s deadliest mass shooting says he could have done more if Army Reserve leaders had told him the full truth about the danger Robert Card posed to the community.
A report released last week by Sheriff Joel Merry made clear that local law enforcement knew months before the attack that Card's mental health was deteriorating. Police were aware of reports that he was paranoid, hearing voices, experiencing psychotic episodes and possibly dealing with schizophrenia.
Police in Maine feared that confronting an Army reservist in the weeks before he killed 18 people in the state’s deadliest mass shooting would “throw a stick of dynamite on a pool of gas."