The family of Robert Card—who is suspected of killing 18 people in double mass shootings in Maine on Wednesday night—say the Army reservist had previously claimed he was hearing voices at the two locations he allegedly attacked.
In the aftermath of the carnage, Katie Card, who is married to Card’s brother, told The Daily Beast that their family has been messaging her brother-in-law and urging him to surrender to authorities.
“I have known Rob my whole life,” Card said on Thursday. “He is quiet but the most loving, hardworking, and kind person that I know. But in the past year, he had an acute episode of mental health, and it’s been a struggle.”
She said that Robert Card recently began wearing powerful hearing aids to combat hearing loss. Since then, Card said her brother-in-law has been insisting to his family that he can hear people bashing him—including at Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley and Schemengees Bar and Grill, where he’s accused of gunning down 18 people on Wednesday night.
“He truly believed he was hearing people say things,” she added. “This all just happened within the last few months.”
The bloody rampage began around 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley in Lewiston. Another shooting was then reported around four miles away at the Schemengees Bar & Grille.
Police confirmed on Thursday morning that 18 people were killed and another 13 injured, including kids who were participating in a bowling league.
At a Thursday morning press briefing, officials would not discuss why Robert Card may have targeted the bowling alley and bar.
“That does speak to motive so [it’s] not something we’re going to be prepared to answer today,” Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck said.
Katie Card said her brother-in-law would “get mad” when they told him the voices were just in his head. His mental health issues resulted in a weeks-long stay at a facility over the summer, she said.
“Things have kind of gone downhill recently,” Card told the Beast.
“We tried to listen to him and tell him that nobody was talking about him,” she added. “Yesterday, as the story was unfolding, we prayed that Rob had nothing to do with this. But when we heard the two places where the shooting happened, my husband rushed home.”
Katie Card, who is currently with the rest of the family as they wait for news, added that she has been texting her brother-in-law since the shooting, hoping he reads her messages.
Several media outlets have shared a Maine Information and Analysis Center bulletin that describes Robert Card as a trained firearms instructor in the Army Reserve. Service records reviewed by CNN confirm that Robert Card was a petroleum supply specialist in the Army. The records say that he was enlisted in December 2022, had no combat deployments, and received several military awards.
The Maine bulletin also said that, according to authorities, Robert Card “recently reported mental health issues,” which allegedly included “hearing voices and threats to shoot up the National Guard Base in Saco, ME.” The Daily Beast has not independently verified the bulletin, which also said he was committed over the summer and then released.
CNN also reported Wednesday that Card recently lost his job at a recycling center. Katie Card told The Daily Beast that her brother-in-law is currently unemployed and that he previously worked at a distribution center and was a long-haul truck driver.
Now, as authorities continue to search for the alleged gunman, his family is begging for the 40-year-old father to turn himself in. The Lewiston Police Department released an image of Card on Wednesday night and said he “should be considered armed and dangerous.” An arrest warrant for him was issued on Thursday on eight counts of murder.
Katie Card insisted that her brother-in-law is probably just “scared.”
“We know he is out there and he is a good person in his heart,” she said. “After all of this, when he has time to reflect, he will be disgusted. We all want him to know that we love him and that we can handle things as a family.”
“He just has to reach out and do the right thing.”
“…good person in his heart…:. The family member who said this needs mental help, also. This guy just murdered multiple people.
Let us hope this “good person” does not kill anybody else.
This guy is the poster child on why assault rifles should not be available to anybody outside a military setting.
I do not condone anything that happened but Looks like an AR15 to me…not an assault weapon semi auto hunting rifle…quit listening to the demophiles in dc…they just want you unarmed when the horde of illegals they let in get to you…the time has come “DUKE”…you best arm urself!
I recently myself invested in sum powerful hearing aids and let me tell you…you do hear things all the way on the other side of a roomful of noise so maybe he did hear those people talking trash about him not that it condones what he done…just saying
Assault weapons are only available to police and military, civilians make do with semiautomatic weapons. The news media is lying to the public!
The bad guys always find weapons. When you ban anything the bad guys will always get what they need
He has all of the signs of a heavy marijuana user. With rare exception, all mass killers suffered from marijuana induced psychosis. Most were hearing voices. Was he a marijuana user?
While I agree the man was doing very evil deeds. I just wish people could start to understand mental illness.
I can understand the family saying he had a good heart. Just remember talking to a mentally ill person IS NOT talking to your loved one. They hear and see things that aren’t there and their brain is not wired right anymore.
This country needs better mental healthcare and the general population needs to realize that mental illness causes changes to the people we love.