On 10 Mar 2022, Molly Bolt <mollythebolt666@gmail.com> posted some
news:e0adb69b-130b-4507-a617-09628c4302fan@googlegroups.com:

> You don't seriously expect people from blue states to have any moral
> courage do you?

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) � Maine state police on Thursday defended their
search last fall for a gunman who had just killed 18 people, saying they
didn�t rush to search woods surrounding his abandoned car because they
feared a late-night ambush.

The Oct. 25 shooting at a bowling alley and a bar was the deadliest in
state history. But it took police two days to find the body of shooter
Robert Card, who died by suicide, while tens of thousands of Maine
residents were ordered to shelter in their homes.

Police have been criticized for not finding Card sooner, after they
quickly identified him as the shooter and found his car, and twice
searched a nearby recycling facility where he used to work. They
ultimately discovered his body in the back of a tractor-trailer in the
business� overflow parking lot during a third search.

State Police Chief Col. Bill Ross told an independent panel appointed by
the governor that the shooting was �extremely challenging� because it
involved two separate locations followed by an intense search. He said
that in most other mass shootings, the suspect has died or been captured
at the scene.

�The weight on our shoulders to find Robert Card was immense and became
heavier as each minute passed,� Ross said.

Maj. Lucas Hare told a panel investigating the Lewiston shooting that he
decided to delay a search of the woods around the car because they�d
been told that Card, a former Army reservist, might have a thermal gun
scope or night-vision capabilities.

�We would essentially be asking a patrol officer, with their canine, to
go into the woods without the ability to see at night,� to face off
against a man with military training, said Hare, who heads the state
police operations division.

He told officers to wait for a SWAT team. �I know that was not a popular
decision,� he said.

Hare also described some of the confusion and tension during the search
as hundreds of officers from dozens of different police agencies
descended on the area and emergency calls flooded in.

There were other reasons police said they decided not to search the area
with dog teams, citing a three-hour delay, exhaust from police vehicles
diminishing the shooter�s scent, and the lack of any heat signature
found by an overhead helicopter. Adding to the confusion, Card�s
cellphone signal was traced to his home in Bowdoin, leaving police to
wonder briefly if he might be there, police said.

Sgt. Greg Roy described how police responded to dozens of leads over the
next two days, each of which turned cold. They staked out Card�s family
home, searched a farm building and checked on a house where his
ex-partner once lived. Police said they responded to hoax calls and
chased down tips � 821 in all.

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and Attorney General Aaron Frey assembled
the commission to determine whether anything could have been done under
existing law to prevent the tragedy, and whether changes are needed to
prevent future mass shootings.

All told, police evidence technicians said Thursday that Card fired at
least 54 shots � based on shell casings discovered at the two locations
� using a .308-caliber rifle, which was later found in his abandoned
vehicle.

Card spent just 45 seconds at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley,
where those killed included two men who rushed him when his gun jammed,
and was inside Schemengees Bar & Grille for 72 seconds, according to
police.

Card�s body was found at the recycling center in the last of some
trailers they searched. A handgun was next to his body, an AR-15-style
rifle underneath it, and more than 200 rounds of ammunition were nearby,
police said.

The state�s chief medical examiner�s conclusion that Card �likely� died
eight to 12 hours before the discovery of his body meant he remained
alive during much of the search. State police still don�t know his
movements after his vehicle was abandoned.

Police recovered Card�s cellphone, which had a note dated Oct. 22 �
three days before the shooting � in which Card wrote that he�d �had
enough� and that he was �trained to hurt people,� police told the
commission. The full information from his cellphone was provided to the
commission but has not yet been made public, a state police spokesperson
said.

Both police and the Army were warned that Card was suffering from
deteriorating mental health in the months before the shooting.

In May, relatives warned police that the 40-year-old Card was sinking
into paranoia, and they expressed concern about his access to guns. In
July, Card was hospitalized for two weeks after shoving a fellow
reservist and locking himself in a motel room during training in upstate
New York. In August, the Army barred him from handling weapons on duty
and declared him nondeployable.

Then in September, a fellow reservist provided a stark warning, telling
an Army superior that Card was going to �snap and do a mass shooting.�

Army officials later downplayed the warning, but it prompted local
police to go to Card�s home in Bowdoin to check on him. Card didn�t come
to the door and the deputy said he didn�t have legal authority under
Maine�s yellow card law to knock on the door.

State Police Sgt. Thomas Pappas testified Thursday that he came upon the
deputy in his car near Card�s home on Sept. 16. He said he agreed with
the deputy�s decision to avoid going to the front door because of the
potential danger. Pappas said he mentioned options including setting up
a perimeter and calling in a tactical team but was told, �I wasn�t
called there for my opinion.�

The deputy earlier told the commission that an Army official suggested
letting the situation �simmer� rather than forcing a confrontation. The
deputy also received assurances from Card�s family that they were
removing his access to guns.

https://ktla.com/news/ap-us-news/ap-maine-mass-shooting-was-unique-becaus
e-of-multiple-locations-manhunt-police-chief-tells-panel/