Crazy Maine mass shooter Robert Card has repeatedly claimed he could hear voices in his head calling him a “pedophile” and was paranoid that people were “raiding” his home in the months before he killed 18 people, police reports obtained by The Post show.
The 40-year-old gunman’s family was among the first to alert authorities to his erratic behavior after he began verbally abusing them and once opened the door to them brandishing a gun, according to at least two Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office incident reports.
Card — who, according to his relatives, had been drinking heavily before last week’s mass shooting in Lewiston — became so paranoid that people were calling him a pedophile that he talked about wanting to hire a lawyer.
The Maine National Guard has also become so concerned about U.S. Army reservists that it urged local authorities to conduct welfare checks because fellow soldiers fear Card will “bulk up and do mass shootings.”
Card’s son and his ex-wife also expressed their concerns about his deteriorating mental health to the local sheriff’s office in May, preliminary incident reports show.
Maine mass shooter Robert Card had repeatedly claimed he could hear voices in his head calling him a “pedophile” in the previous month, a local sheriff’s incident report said. AP
They said the issues, which started as early as January, have escalated of late and the son now believes his father may be “hearing voices or starting to experience paranoia” because he thinks people are saying disparaging things about him in public.
Card’s family and authorities say that his mental problems arose around the same time he got high-powered hearing aids after his hearing had deteriorated significantly.
At one point, the son said, his father became “very angry” with him and accused him of saying things behind his back, the incident report said.
Police said they were alerted to fears Army reservists would snap and open fire.AP
Card’s ex-wife also told police her ex-husband recently took 10 to 15 handguns and rifles that were used for storage at her brother’s house — and she was “very concerned” about her son spending time with his father, the report states.
In a separate interview with authorities, Card’s brother said the gunman had recently opened the door to relatives armed with one of the guns and had talked about people outside barricading his home.
The brother added that Card often opened his trailer door with the gun out of sight, the report said.
A sergeant with the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office attempted to conduct a welfare check on the 40-year-old man after they were told Card had lashed out at his family.Post Illustration
But it wasn’t just relatives who became fearful of Card’s deteriorating mental health.
A subsequent incident report filed in mid-September indicated that the National Guard had urged the sheriff’s office to conduct a welfare check on Card because another trooper was concerned he “was going to snap” and had made numerous threatening comments, the file said. .
The trooper also indicated repeatedly that Card believed others were “insulting him, calling him a pedophile,” according to the report.
Card became violent in his home and allegedly started hearing voices.Robert Miller
A soldier, identified only as SSG Hodgson, has voiced his concerns after Card punched him as the pair drove home from the casino.
“When Hodgson told him to turn it down because he would get in trouble for talking about shooting places and people, Card punched him,” the report said.
“Hodgson was able to get out of the car and return to his own home. According to Hodgson, Card said he had a gun and was going to shoot up drill centers in Saco and other places.”
Guards informed the sheriff’s office that Card recently spent two weeks at Four Winds Psychiatric Hospital in Westchester County, NY, undergoing treatment after he accused fellow soldiers of calling him a pedophile and threatening that “he’s going to take care of him.”
Law enforcement officers gather outside Schengenees Bar and Grille after a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, on Oct. 27. 2023. AP
Members of the Sagadahoc and Kennebec sheriff’s offices tried to speak with Card during a welfare check Sept. 16, but he failed to answer the door, the incident report said.
The sheriff’s office, realizing at the time that Card was a skilled shooter, decided to “back off” from his home since deputies were in a “disadvantageous position,” according to the file.
At that time, Card’s brother had agreed to help authorities try to recover a cache of weapons from his trailer.
The welfare check report and the second incident were filed just six weeks before Card went on a rampage at a bowling alley and bar on October 25, killing 18 people.
Card, who was an expert sniper, stormed into the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley and opened fire with an assault rifle — before minutes later fatally shooting patrons at the nearby Schemenge Bar & Grille.
Authorities launched a massive manhunt for the crazed gunman, which ended two days later when he was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
