Police across Maine were alerted just last month to ‘veiled threats’ by the U.S. Army reservist who would go on to carry out the worst mass shooting in the state’s history, after concerns he would ‘snap and commit a mass shooting’. It was just one of a string of missed red flags that preceded last week’s massacre at a bowling alley.
The revelations came as more than 1,000 people packed a cavernous church on Sunday night, with hundreds more spilling outside, to hug, sing, weep and seek comfort in the wake the state’s most deadly mass shooting. The crowd gathered for the vigil at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Lewiston, where days earlier a gunman fatally shot 18 people. Two local law enforcement chiefs revealed over the weekend how a statewide awareness alert was sent in mid-September to be on the lookout for Robert Card after the firearms instructor made threats against his base and fellow soldiers. Patrols were stepped-up on the base and a visit was paid to Card’s home only six weeks ago – neither of which turned up any sign of him – after which, they moved on.
Hellbound and Down 