‘Paranoia’: Public Safety Officials Believe Mental Health Issues Plagued Maine Mass Shooter

The suspect of the Lewiston, Maine, mass shooting struggled with mental health issues, specifically “paranoia,” public safety officials announced on Saturday.

Robert Card, the suspect named by police, shot and killed 18 individuals and wounded 13 more on Wednesday evening at a bowling alley and bar. The shooter could’ve been hearing voices and felt like people were talking about him during the time of the attack, Commissioner Michael J. Sauschuck said during a press conference. (RELATED: Here’s What We Know About The Suspected Maine Shooter)

“I would say that the mental health aspect of this, where there’s paranoia, there’s some conspiracy theorist piece that I think, what I’ve read and what I’ve seen is that the individual felt like people were talking about him. It may even appear that there were some voices in play here. And we don’t believe that any of that is accurate. And I think that led them to him specifically back to those two specific locations,” said Sauschuck.

WATCH:

 

Card was found dead after appearing to have shot himself in a trailer Friday evening ten miles away from the shootings in Lisbon, Maine, at a recycling plant he once worked at, ending a two-day manhunt for the suspect. Police found a suicide note Thursday that Card left for his teenaged son in Bowdoin, Maine, which didn’t include information about a potential motive, according to ABC News.

“I think clearly there’s a mental health component to this,” said Sauschuck. “We still need to do some research, and I’m trying to get access to certain records and things of that nature. Which again, you could probably imagine, it’s not just as simple as just calling somebody, ‘hey, can you send me this thing?’ But what I would say is based on what I’ve heard through conversations this morning, I don’t see, or I’m told that we don’t have access to any forcibly committed for treatment information referenced to Mr. Card.”

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