Authorities publicly identified Robert Card as a person of interest about four hours after he shot and killed 18 people and wounded 13 others during attacks last week at a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston, Maine. But Card, who was found dead two days after his rampage, had been well known to law enforcement for months.
Card returned home on Aug. 3, according to the Army. At that time, the Army directed that while on duty, he shouldn't be allowed to have a weapon, handle ammunition or participate in live-fire activity. It also declared him to be non-deployable. On Aug. 5, Card went to Coastal Defense Firearms in Auburn, next to Lewiston, to pick up a gun suppressor, or silencer, that he had ordered online, according to the shop's owner, Rick LaChapelle.
On Sept. 15, a deputy was sent to visit Card’s home in Bowdoin, about 10 miles southeast of Lewiston, for a wellness check. Card's unit requested it after a soldier said he was afraid Card was “going to snap and commit a mass shooting” because he was hearing voices again, according to documents released by the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office. The deputy went to Card’s trailer but couldn't find him. The sheriff’s office then sent out a statewide alert seeking help locating Card.
On Oct. 18, the sheriff’s office canceled its statewide alert seeking help locating Card. One week later, shortly before 7 p.m. on Oct. 25, authorities began receiving 911 calls about a gunman at the Justin-In-Time Recreation bowling alley in Lewiston. Four local police officers who were in plain clothes at a nearby gun range arrived at the shooting scene a minute and a half after the first 911 call, but the gunman had already left.