Police were alerted last month about threats from the Maine shooter, but they did not locate him

Although the body of Robert Card, a suspect in the shootings that killed 18 people last Wednesday in the state of Maine, was found inside a garbage truck, the case seems far from over.

According to data released by ABC News, Maine police were alerted last month to “threats” from a U.S. Army reservist who would carry out the worst mass shooting in the state’s history.one of a series of warning signs that preceded the massacre, however, the investigation did not proceed.

According to journalistic versions, Two local police chiefs said a statewide alert was sent out in mid-September to be on the lookout for Robert Card after the firearms instructor threatened his base and fellow soldiers. But after intensified base patrols and a visit to Card’s home, no red flags were found.

“We added extra patrols, we did that for about two weeks… The guy never showed up“said Jack Clements, police chief in Saco, home to the U.S. Army Reserve base where Card trained.

Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry, whose jurisdiction includes Card’s home in Bowdoin, said the Army Reserve notified his department in September about the reservist’s threats, and the sheriff sent the awareness alert to all agencies. state police.

“We couldn’t locate it“Merry said, adding that he couldn’t remember if there was any follow-up because “I don’t have any reports in front of me.”

Card was 40 years old and from Bowdoin, Maine, a town near Lewiston, authorities said.. He was described as 5’11” tall and weighing 230 pounds. Card was a military reservist and had a history of mental health problems, records show.

For experts, Card’s case is a glaring example of red flags that were overlooked.with many unanswered questions about what the military, police, mental health professionals and family members could have done to prevent the massacre.

While Maine does not have a red flag law, it does have a more limited “yellow flag” law that would still allow police to ask a judge to take away a person’s firearms if a doctor deems that person to be a threat.

*With information from ABC News.

Keep reading:

• A divorce and problems in the Army: What life was like for Robert Card before the shooting in Maine
• Drones, helicopters, police dogs and robots: This is the intense search for the Maine shooter.
• Sister-in-law of the alleged Maine shooter says he was convinced he heard voices criticizing him.