Long before Robert Card was the subject of a massive manhunt, he was a man in torment, according to his sister-in-law.
Card, 40, is suspected of killing 18 people and wounding 13 others in a Wednesday evening shooting spree at multiple locations in Lewiston, Maine, NBC News reported.
Katie Card, who is married to Card’s brother, said the past year has been anguish as the alleged gunman began hearing voices in his head.
“I have known Rob my whole life,” Katie Card said on Thursday, according to the Daily Beast. “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.”
After Robert Card started wearing hearing aids, he told family members he could hear people criticizing him, including patrons of the bowling alley and restaurant where the shootings erupted Wednesday.
“He truly believed he was hearing people say things. This all just happened within the last few months,” she said.
Katie Card said Robert Card grew angry when family members tried to tell him what he heard was not real.
“Things have kind of gone downhill recently,” Katie Card said. “We tried to listen to him and tell him that nobody was talking about him.”
“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,” she said.
Robert Card was a decorated petroleum supply specialist in the Army Reserve, having enlisted in 2002.
NBC reported that his commander sent him to receive in-patient psychiatric treatment this summer after he threatened his base.
Katie Card said wherever Robert Card is, he is “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.”
A shelter-in-place order was issued for Lewiston and nearby Northern Sagadahoc County, NBC reported.
Lt. Cmdr. Ryan Koroknay of the U.S. Coast Guard said the Kennebec River was being searched because a vehicle linked to Robert Card was found at a boat ramp in Lisbon, according to The New York Times.
Investigators executing a search warrant at Robert Card’s home found a note, NBC reported, citing senior law enforcement officials. The contents of the note have not been released.
Disagree with a school board and the fbi investigates you with the full force their agency has. Show antisocial and psychotic behavior and they just let it play out so they can use the murders to push gun control . Because as we all know the fbi loves power and control . And uses intimidation and false charges to get it . I guess now I will be on their list . Well they are a little late I have made it clear for decades I have lost all respect for the fbi . And have made it clear I believe they are nothing but a tool of the dnc and a tool to threaten and intimidate citizens. Hoover ruled the fbi with an iron fist and now the fbi is trying to rule the people the same way .
Unfortunately, the psychiatric facilities can only hold someone for a very short time, no matter how serious the case is. We experienced it with our daughter. It is either the lack of beds or the insurance specifications. They would only keep our daughter for a week before they kicked her out, medicated into a zombie-like state and weekly appointments. Because the insurance said so.
Deep State. They have the technology. They are just testing this sh-t out on this guy, and the Pilot. Just wait, it’s about to get real, …very soon. MANY, many more to follow.
It wasn’t the gun’s fault.