The family of the Army reservist accused of fatally shooting more than a dozen people in Lewiston, Maine, alerted police and military officials that he was experiencing an “acute” mental health episode before the Wednesday night massacre, his sister-in-law said.
Katie Card said the family did their best to reassure Robert Card that the comments were not real, including by verifying with some of the people he claimed had made the remarks.
“He was just very set in his belief that everyone was against him all of a sudden,” she said.
His sister-in-law said the family reached out to police and his Army Reserve base as they “got increasingly concerned" in the last couple of months.
“They were following up on it, too, but he’s never been someone we thought would actually do anything,” she said.
Katie Card declined to discuss whether the family tried to restrict his access to firearms.
She said that his behavior change was sudden and that he had not previously experienced mental health issues. »
