AUGUSTA, Maine – Police have repeatedly said in the wake of Maine’s deadliest shooting that officers thought the shooter’s family was taking away their guns.
Testifying before an investigative committee on Thursday, the shooter’s sister-in-law suggested that cops should have known that wasn’t true because she and her husband, Ryan Card, told a cop over the phone a month before Robert Card killed 18 people he still had access to weapons despite his deteriorating mental health.
“My husband will always blame himself, even if it shouldn’t be his fault. He will always blame,” Katie Card said. “So I will, always.”
The revelation came during the first public testimony from Card’s relatives. One after another they spoke of frustrating attempts to get help and offered emotional apologies to the victims and their families.
The independent commission appointed by the governor has already heard from police, victims and their families, and other Army reservists about the deadliest shooting in Maine history. Card, 40, killed himself after opening fire with an assault rifle inside a bowling alley and bar and grill in Lewiston in October.
In the aftermath, the legislature passed new gun laws for Maine, a state with a long tradition of firearm ownership. Among other things, they strengthened the state’s “yellow flag” law, criminalized the transfer of weapons to prohibited persons, and expanded funding for crisis mental health care.
Card’s family kept a low profile following the tragedy, other than releasing a statement in March expressing deep sorrow and revealing an analysis of Card’s brain tissue that showed evidence of traumatic brain injuries. Card had trained others in the use of hand grenades, and the family blamed the repeated explosions for his mental decline.
The commission issued an interim report in March saying authorities should have seized Card’s weapons and placed him in protective custody based on warnings from family and reservists, using existing yellow flag law. A full report will be delivered this summer.
Police testified that the family agreed to remove Card’s weapons, but the commission said leaving that task to them “was an abdication of law enforcement responsibility.”
Katie Card said Thursday that a deputy pressed her — in particular her brother Ryan — to offer assurances that the weapons were removed so the deputy could wrap up his investigation before the two-week vacation. She said she and her husband “expressed that day (to the deputy) and several times after that that we were unsuccessful.”
She said she and Ryan Card, whom she described as a retired Army ranger who became disabled after tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, remain wracked with guilt, even though it was unfair for law enforcement authorities to hold distant family members responsible for removing the weapons. by Card.
Other family members also expressed their frustrations, blaming the military, law enforcement and media coverage. James Herling, the husband of the shooter’s sister, criticized the Army Reserve for refusing to answer the phone or return calls while they sought help. Card’s ex-wife, Cara Lamb, accused police of ignoring or ignoring warning signs.
Nicole Herling, Guman’s sister, said the military deserves better protections: “It is unfair to continue training with explosions and sonic booms until there are protective equipment and standards that guarantee the safety of all of our soldiers’ brains.”
“This is not an excuse for the behavior or actions that Robbie committed,” James Herling testified. “It was an unlawful act of evil. My brother-in-law was not that man. His brain was hijacked.”
An Army spokesperson said Thursday that the Army “is committed to understanding how brain health is affected and implementing evidence-based risk mitigation and treatment” and that the Army is this year conducting cognitive assessments of trainees. which can be repeated to identify changes.
As for the mass shooting, the Army Reserve and the Army Inspector General are conducting separate investigations into the events and “more details may become available once the investigation is complete.”
Lamb said her teenage son was so concerned about Card’s growing paranoia and access to guns that she shared her concerns with a school resource officer in May 2023. That should have been a “light sign that we have a problem here.” “, she said.
Other Army reservists witnessed Card’s deterioration, to the point where he was hospitalized for two weeks during training last summer. One reservist, Sean Hodgson, told superiors on September 15: “I believe he is going to attack and carry out a mass shooting.”
Lamb, for her part, said she herself encouraged officers not to confront her ex-husband for fear of escalation and damaging her son’s relationship with his father, but now questions that approach.
“I wonder if the right thing to do would be to say, ‘Screw it, screw everyone’s feelings and damn the repercussions,’ and yell at the police — ‘What do we have to do?!’” she testified.
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Sharp reported from Portland, Maine.
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