U.S. Army Barred Maine Shooting Suspect from Handling Guns, Ammo, Because of His Mental State

Following Maine shooting suspect Robert Card’s mid-July evaluation at a West Point hospital, the U.S. Army decided he should not take part in “live fire activity” or handle guns and ammunition.

On October 28, 2023, Breitbart News reported police took Card for an evaluation at a hospital while he was at West Point in mid-July 2023.

Card, an Army Reservist, had caught the attention of military officials after “acting erratically in mid-July” while taking part in training at West Point, the Associated Press noted. Police in New York were called and Card was taken to West Point’s Keller Army Community Hospital for evaluation.

On October 31, 2023, the BBC pointed out that U.S. Army decided Card was “non-deployable due to concerns over his well-being” following the evaluation.

CBS News indicated the U.S. Army decided Card “shouldn’t have a weapon…[or] handle ammunition.”

Breitbart News observed the Maine National Guard asked police to check on Card in mid-September out of concerns that he could “snap and commit a mass shooting.”

CNN reported personnel from “the Sagadahoc County and Kennebec County Sheriff’s Offices” responded to the Maine National Guard request by trying to make contact with Card on September 16, 2023.

The attempts to make contact were unsuccessful.

On October 25, 2023, Card allegedly opened fire in two Lewiston, Maine, locations, at least one of which was a gun-free zone. Eighteen innocents were killed and 13 others were wounded.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010, a speaker at the 2023 Western Conservative Summit, and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.