(NewsSpace.com) – When one commits a heinous crime, it’s not uncommon for people to wonder what was going through that person’s brain. However, it’s not very often that authorities try to determine the root cause of a criminal’s mindset. Yet, that’s exactly what Maine’s chief medical examiner is doing after the state saw one of its worst crimes.
On October 25, 40-year-old Robert Card allegedly carried out multiple shooting attacks that resulted in 18 deaths and more than a dozen other injuries. While the suspect committed suicide afterward, the state is still seeking more answers. Specifically, the medical examiner’s (ME) office wants to know if Card suffered a brain injury during his military service, causing trauma that led to him committing the atrocious acts. In particular, Card was exposed to repeated blasts in his role as a US Military Academy trainer.
According to Lindsey Chasteen, the office administrator at the ME’s office, “In an event such as this, people are left with more questions than answers,” and it’s their responsibility to “conduct testing that may shed light” on the situation.
Card’s behavior has been abnormal for the past two years, according to his family. He had spent time in a hospital for delusional, paranoid behavior while at West Point. Even the soldiers Card worked with were worried enough that the subject of a mass shooting came up, and they took steps to ensure his access to weapons was restricted. However, when law enforcement showed up to do a wellness check on Card weeks prior to the mass shooting, he didn’t answer the door of his home in Bowdoin. It’s not clear if there was any follow-up to invoke the yellow flag law Maine has in place for situations like this.
The brain tissue sample was sent to a Boston University laboratory to determine if the shooter suffered from a severe injury such as CTE. Since they cannot share the results without family permission, it’s not clear if the results will ever be made public.
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