(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Three Army Reserve officers were disciplined for dereliction of duty following a rampage in which reservist Robert Card killed 18 people in Maine, according to an Army report that cited communication failures within the chain of command and between military and civilian hospitals, among other shortcomings.
However, the details of the disciplinary actions are being kept secret.
“In accordance with policy, the Army will not release the names or further details of the disciplinary action taken because the officers are in the rank of colonel and below,” the United States Army Reserve Command said in a press release this week.
According to the USARC, there were multiple communication failures between military and civilian hospitals, as well as with Card’s chain of command. An Army Inspector General’s report provides more details: According to that report, Card’s close families first noticed his mental health deteriorating in early 2023.
“Card told his friends and family that people were talking about him being a pedophile, having a small penis, and being homosexual. SFC Card was convinced his civilian co-workers started the rumors, which he believed spread as a conspiracy online, leading to just about everyone believing the rumors,” the Army IG report said.
Bizarre detail tucked in the recent Army IG report on Maine mass shooter Robert Card pic.twitter.com/BYiq0JSzh2
— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) July 25, 2024
Last July, members of Card’s unit brought him to Keller Army Community Hospital (KACH) at West Point. While there, an unnamed Army official ordered him to undergo a command directed behavioral health evaluation at KACH, according to the Army IG report.
Based on that evaluation, Card agreed to an inpatient psychological evaluation and therapy at the Four Winds Hospital, a private facility in nearby Katonah, New York.
He remained voluntarily hospitalized for 19 days at Four Winds undergoing additional psychological evaluation and therapy, according to the IG report.
Later that month, Four Winds told KACH that Card may need a higher level of care, the Army IG said. Then, on July 25, 2023, Four Winds notified KACH that Card submitted a 72-hour request for discharge and release from treatment.
Four Winds then notified Card that the facility applied for a court hearing to involuntarily retain him at their facility with a scheduled court date on August 2, 2023. But before that could happen, Card withdrew his voluntary release request and consented to continue treatment at Four Winds, at which time Four Winds cancelled the court hearing.
On August 3, 2023, Four Winds discharged Card, categorizing him as “low risk” of harm to himself and others and cleared him to return to work.
It’s not clear why he was categorized as “low risk” when the hospital had considered committing him involuntarily. In any event, Card returned to his home in Bowdoin, Maine, ending his active-duty status.
About two months later, he went on his shooting spree, killing 18 people in two separate shootings.
The shootings happened Oct. 25, 2023, at a bowling alley and at a bar and grill in Lewiston. Besides the deaths, 13 survived gunshot wounds and 20 others suffered non-shooting injuries. Card allegedly died by suicide.
While Card’s mental health issues only became apparent to his family last year, the Army’s investigation revealed that he had a nasty fall from a roof in 2008. He broke his neck during that fall and may have suffered trauma to the brain, though the report said there wasn’t evidence of brain damage from the fall.
Additionally, the report revealed that Card had a bizarre “egg-sized lump on his head from an unknown origin” that one of his colleagues apparently noticed in June 2023.
However, “We found no medical documentation on this,” the Army IG report said.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
