AUGUSTA, Maine — Thursday’s testimony from the family of Robert Card II to the commission investigating the Lewiston mass shooting was emotional and extensive.
It covered everything from their months of efforts to try to get Card, a 40-year-old Army reservist from Bowdoin, into treatment amid his concerning behavior to their criticism of law enforcement and military officials over their response — or lack of it — to warning signs, threats and tips.
Many details had already come out since Card’s Oct. 25 rampage at a bowling alley and bar that left 18 dead and 13 injured. But several family members of Card who have rarely spoken publicly shared new details and specifics Thursday that further illustrated how missed opportunities to intervene led to Maine’s deadliest mass shooting on record.
Here are a few things we learned.
Card’s family tried many avenues to get help aside from the police.
It was already known Card’s family and fellow reservists had warned police several times in the months before the shooting of his paranoia and access to guns. Still, Thursday’s meeting shed light on the lengths to which the Card family went to try to get him help.
James Herling, Card’s brother-in-law, said things “started” in early 2023, after Card received hearing aids. Card spent several of his 20-plus years in the Army Reserve as a grenade instructor, and Nicole Herling said her brother was hard of hearing since 2015.
James Herling described his wife making phone calls long into the night to Card’s hearing aid specialist, the 988 suicide hotline and the Army Reserve, whom she wanted to “desperately” speak to about concerns her brother may hurt his peers during drills. But no Army Reserve officials responded, Nicole Herling said.
She spoke to a Department of Veterans Affairs employee in June, but the VA was unable to help because Card was not a veteran.
After Cara Lamb and the 17-year-old son she shared with Card shared concerns about the eventual shooter’s mental health with a school resource officer, the Herlings visited Card’s residence after learning about the son’s concerns, and Card answered the door with a gun in hand. This report made it to a Sagadahoc County sheriff’s deputy, who in turn shared the concerns with Army Reserve leaders.
In July, Card went on a training stint to West Point, New York, with his reserve unit and was hospitalized for about two weeks after his peers reported he was acting erratically and accusing strangers of saying bad things about him. The Herlings thought the treatment was for 30 days. Additional family members struggled to reach Card in September and October.
“We can point fingers at who’s at fault, who has failed to make the ultimate contact, but in all reality, we all could have done better, from the sheriff’s office to the Army to the family,” James Herling said.
Harassment over a misunderstanding fueled the shooter’s delusions.
A few days after the shooting, the Maine State Police issued a report that outlined a motive for the shooting: Card was having delusions that businesses including the ones he targeted were broadcasting messages that he was a pedophile.
His concern may have begun with a kernel of truth. Nicole Herling said an investigation turned up the fact that Card had been harassed by Lisbon recycling center coworkers who falsely believed he was on the sex offender registry. That was because an unrelated man sharing Card’s first and last name from another area of the state is on the registry.
Misinformation spread on social media the night of the shooting. Several people shared photos of the wrong Card and identified him as the shooter in the heat of a manhunt that shut down the region for 48 hours until Card was found dead in a trailer at the recycling center.
Family focused on a sheriff’s deputy already criticized by the commission.
Family members mentioned Sagadahoc County sheriff’s Sgt. Aaron Skolfield several times Thursday. In a preliminary report, the commission faulted Skolfield and Army Reserve leaders for not trying to initiate Maine’s “yellow flag” law to temporarily take away Card’s weapons and for instead relying on the Card family to secure the guns.
James Herling said he encountered Skolfield when having an issue with a reporter who was parking on “no trespassing” areas by family property. Skolfield asked the brother-in-law if he wanted him to be “wasting time” writing a report on that instead of searching for Card.
Card’s sister-in-law, Katie Card, also said Skolfield called her in September to ask if the family had seized the guns from Card and that he wanted to receive assurance that would happen before he went on vacation. Katie Card said she told Skolfield they were failing to reach Card.
Skolfield, who is running against Sheriff Joel Merry this year, defended his actions through an attorney and accused the commission of misrepresenting facts in the case. His attorney did not respond to requests for comment Thursday on the family’s comments.
The family is advocating nationally for brain injury research.
Several Card family members wore matching green shirts Thursday that had a message related to veterans on the back: “They fought for us. Now we fight for them.”
Nicole Herling spoke extensively about soldiers who face brain injuries from exposure to blasts in training and combat. Experts who examined portions of Card’s brain said in March they found “significant evidence of trauma.” Nicole Herling said she is advocating for federal legislation to help protect soldiers from blasts, adding Card may have been exposed to 1,000 shockwaves during the last nine years of instructing cadets on using grenades.
Nicole Herling added Walter Reed National Military Medical Center is also reviewing her brother’s records for insight into brain injuries. Lamb, the ex-wife, said any revelations may still not answer the biggest question of why Card committed a mass shooting.
“We could ask a million whys for the rest of our lives and never have a good enough answer,” Lamb said.
