Maine officials 'breathe sigh of relief' after Robert Card is found dead: 'The threat is over'
Maine authorities provide an update on the search for Maine mass shooting suspect Robert Card on ‘Hannity.’
A member of Robert Card's Army Reserve unit sent a series of texts on Sept. 15, saying, "I believe he's (Card) going to snap and do a mass shooting," with a warning to be armed if anyone sees him.
That was a little over five weeks before Oct. 25, when Card killed 18 and injured 13 more in the deadliest mass shooting in Maine's history.
The text was among the trove of documents released by the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office this week, including letters from Card's friends and colleagues expressing concern for his rapidly deteriorating mental state.
"Change the passcode to the unit gate and be armed if sfc Card does arrive. Please," the sender – identified as "Ssg Hodgson" – said in the Sept. 15 text exchange to Cpl. Kelvin Mote, who is an Ellsworth police officer. "I believe he’s messed up in the head. (sic) And threaten the unit … and other places."
Robert Card, the alleged person of interest in the Lewiston, Maine, shootings. (Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office)
"Ssg Hodgson's" texts continued on to say, "I love (Card) to death but i (sic) do not know how to help him and he refuses to get help or to continue help … I'm afraid he's going to f--- up his life from hearing things he thinks he heard."
Cpl. Mote included the texts in an email to the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office, which described Card's erratic and confrontational behavior, which appeared to stem from paranoia.
MAINE SHOOTING: ROBERT CARD'S NOTE TO LOVED ONES AND FINAL MOVEMENTS REVEALED
"Card has been hearing voices calling him a pedophile, saying he has a small d--- and other insults," Cpl. Mote wrote in an email obtained by Fox News Digital (and included in full below).
Card started hearing voices in the spring, Cpl. Mote wrote, and it "has only gotten worse," which led to physical confrontations with colleagues and even "a longtime friend."
On July 15, while at West Point, he accused other soldiers of calling him a pedophile "and said he would take care of it," Cpl. Mote wrote. "Card got in his (longtime friend) face, shoved him and told him to stop calling him a pedophile."
The tense exchange temporarily deescalated, but Card continued to repeat "he would take care of it" during the car ride home, according to Cpl. Mote.
MAINE MASS SHOOTING SUSPECT ROBERT CARD FOUND DEAD WITH APPARENT SELF-INFLICTED GUNSHOT WOUND
"Once they got back to the motel, Card locked himself in his room and would not answer the door when they tried to make contact," he wrote.
The next morning, Cpl. Mote and other soldiers tried to convince Card to see a psychologist, which sparked another tense exchange, according to the email.
Law enforcement agents aid in the search for Robert Card at a boat slip in Lisbon, Maine, on Friday. (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)
Card was ultimately taken to Four Winds Psychiatric Hospital in Katonah, New York, for treatment and evaluation, but he "never spoke, just stared through me without blinking," wrote Cpl. Mote.
Cpl. Mote noted Card spent 14 days in the hospital, left and didn't seek out any other treatment.
MAINE POLICE AUDIO DESCRIBES FRANTIC SHOOTING RESPONSE
He detailed other incidents where Card again mentioned he was being called a pedophile and that he was going to get "them."
That phrase "get them" was in quotes throughout Cpl. Mote's email: "Since the commander and I are the one who had him committed, we are the ‘them.’"
"He also said I was the reason he can't buy guns anymore because of the commitment," Cpl. Mote wrote.
The Lewiston Maine Police Department released a photo of Robert Card. (Lewiston Maine Police Department)
There were well-being checks on Card at his home at 941 Meadow Road in Bowdoin, Maine, where Fox News Digital detailed an all-night law enforcement raid and execution of search warrants on Thursday night.
"I would rather err on the side of caution with regards to Card since he is a capable marksman, and if he set his mind to carry out threats made to Hodgson, he would be able to do it," Cpl. Mote wrote.
Police activity takes place outside an address on Meadow Road in Bowdoin, Maine, in the manhunt for Robert Card, the suspect in a mass shooting in neighboring Lewiston, on Thursday. (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)
Police activity takes place outside an address on Meadow Road in Bowdoin, Maine, in the manhunt for Robert Card, the suspect in a mass shooting in neighboring Lewiston, on Thursday. (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)
Two mass shootings in minutes
Card killed 18 people and injured 13 more on Oct. 25 during his deadly rampage at the Schemengees Bar and Grille and Just In Time bowling alley, previously known as Sparetime Recreation, in Lewiston.
He seemingly vanished into the chaos, which sent Lewiston and the surrounding areas into a COVID-like shutdown during a two-day-long manhunt until Card was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a trailer of a recycling facility.
MAINE MASS SHOOTING SUSPECT'S FAMILY ‘VERY COOPERATIVE’ IN MANHUNT THAT DISCOVERED HIS BODY: POLICE
Again, he believed people in both locations were calling him a pedophile, according to witnesses, including Card's brother and son.
Card knew people at both locations, which are well-known hangout spots in the area.
The two locations where Robert Card conducted his shooting spree. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)
Robert Card was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a trailer lot (in red) that is part of the recycling center (in yellow) on Friday night. (Google Street View)
After two days, Card was found dead in a trailer in the overflow lot of a recycling facility in Lisbon, which is along a walking trail where law enforcement found his abandoned car.
The lot where Card was found is separated from the main facility by a street and is northwest and out of the way from the main building, so police didn't search the trailers after they cleared the facility twice before.
Card was wearing the same sweatshirt as the night of the shooting, according to law enforcement, which found him with two other guns.
Remembering the victims
Pictures and names of the victims were shown on a screen during press briefings last week. Of the 13 injured, three remain in critical condition.
On Friday, the names of the 18 victims who lost their lives were released.
REMEMBERING THE VICTIMS OF MAINE MASS SHOOTING
The victims of the Maine mass shooting. (The Maine Medical Examiner)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The youngest was 14 and the oldest was 76:
Ronald Morin, 55
Peyton Brewer-Ross, 40
Joshua A. Seal, 36
Bryan M MacFarlane, 41
Joseph Lawrence Walker, 57
Arthur Fred Strout, 42
Maxx A. Hathaway, 35
Stephen M. Vozzella, 45
Thomas Ryan Conrad, 34
Michael R. Deslauriers II, 51
Jason Adam Walker, 51
Tricia C. Asselin, 53
William A. Young, 44
Aaron Young, 14
Robert E. Violette, 76
Lucille M. Violette, 73
William Frank Brackett, 48
Keith D. Macneir, 64
True Crime
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.
