Maine gunman's family alerted law enforcement 5 months before mass shooting, sheriff's office says

The family of Robert Card alerted the local sheriff five months ago to the U.S. Army reservist's deteriorating mental health while having access to firearms, authorities said days after Card allegedly killed 18 people in the deadliest mass shooting ever in Maine.

The Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office received the alert and then reached out to officials with Card's Army Reserve unit, who said they would talk to Card and make sure he received medical treatment, Sheriff Joel Merry said Monday, according to The Associated Press.

News about the family's long-standing concerns for Card's mental health comes after officials revealed over the weekend that a statewide law enforcement alert was issued last month for Card, who went on to kill 18 people last week in the town of Lewiston, Maine. Card was found dead Friday from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Card's family was concerned about his mental health before notifying the sheriff's office in May. He underwent a mental health evaluation last summer following an incident during training in New York in which he claimed soldiers called him a pedophile and then he shoved one and locked himself in his room.

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