The family of the Army reservist accused of fatally shooting more than a dozen people in Lewiston, Maine, warned police and military officials that he was experiencing an “acute” mental health episode before Wednesday night’s massacre, his sister-in-law said.
Robert Card, 40, a firearms instructor and longtime member of the Army Reserve, began hearing voices saying “horrible” things about him a few months ago when he was fitted for high-powered hearing aids, said Katie Card, who is married to his brother.
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“He was picking up voices that he had never heard before,” she told NBC News. “His mind was twisting them around. He was humiliated by the things he thought were being said.”
Katie Card said the family did their best to reassure Robert Card that the comments were not real, including checking with some of the people he claimed had made the remarks.
But, she said, “it became a manic belief”.
“He was just very set in his belief that all of a sudden everyone was against him,” she said.
Robert Card, who was still at large on Thursday, is accused of killing at least 18 people and injuring many others at a bar and a bowling alley, police said.
His sister-in-law said the family contacted police and his Army Reserve base as they became “increasingly concerned” in recent months.
“We just reached out to make sure everyone was on the same page because he is someone who does firearms training,” she said. “We were concerned about his mental health. That’s all.”
Her husband went “back and forth” with the army, Katie Card said.
“They did follow up, but he’s never been someone we thought would actually do anything,” she said.
The Army confirmed Robert Card’s status in the reserves, but did not directly address the family’s claim that relatives had shared their concerns before the attack.
Two senior law enforcement officials said Card’s unit commanders sent him for mental health treatment this summer after becoming concerned about threats he made to the base and his claims of hearing voices.
Card spent about two weeks in inpatient psychiatric care and was released, the officials said. It is not clear what further action was taken.
A Defence Department official said Card’s unit requested that law enforcement be contacted in July after he began behaving erratically. New York State Police responded and took him to Keller Army Community Hospital at the US Military Academy for a medical evaluation.
In a statement, Army spokesman Bryce Dubee said there were no records to indicate that Card taught or participated in any training while his unit was supporting West Point’s summer training in July.
The Army did not train him as a firearms instructor, nor did he serve in that capacity for the Army, Dubee said.
“We take matters such as this very seriously, and our primary concern is to ensure that all legal and appropriate actions are taken in accordance with our commitment to uphold the highest standards of conduct among our soldiers and civilian personnel,” he said.
Katie Card declined to discuss whether the family had tried to restrict his access to firearms.
As officers travelled to Maine to assist in the manhunt, a warrant search of Robert Card’s home turned up a note, four senior law enforcement officials said. Investigators are trying to determine the meaning of the note and how it might guide their investigation, the officials said.
The weapon believed to have been used in the attack was a sniper rifle with .308 calibre bullets and was purchased legally this year, the officials said.
Robert Card enlisted in the Army Reserve in December 2002 and has no combat experience, Dubee said. He is assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiment in Saco, Maine.
His sister-in-law said he suffers from severe hearing loss, most likely due to his constant exposure to gunfire.
She said the family had been sending him messages to tell him he was loved and to “do the right thing”, but had not heard from him.
Katie Card said her brother-in-law was a “wonderful person” and a great father to his son, who had just graduated from high school. She said his change in behaviour was sudden and that he had no history of mental health problems.
“We don’t know this person. This is not him,” she said. “We’re so sorry for the pain he’s caused others.”
