During this summer, Robert Card, the suicide bomber who carried out the shootings in Maine this week, was deployed at Camp Smith in New York as part of his duties in the United States Army Reserve.
Camp Smith is a National Guard military installation in New York located at Cortlandt Manor near Peekskill. It is located about 30 miles north of New York City.
Card, a sergeant first class and oil supply specialist, was supposed to train cadets at the West Point academy.
However, although he was designated for support duties, he had no interaction with cadets during his stay.
An ABC report details that on July 17, leaders of the Army Reserve’s Third Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiment notified garrison personnel at the training facility of Card’s worrying behavior.
The soldier allegedly indicated that he was hearing voices and threatened to shoot at a National Guard base in Saco, Maine. Card had an active military ID, so he could access different bases.
“Due to concerns for their safety, the unit requested that the authorities be contacted,” a military official told the aforementioned network.
State Police troopers transported the man to Keller Army Community Hospital in West Point for a medical evaluation. Card spent two weeks hospitalized. His diagnosis is unclear.
During that period, the New York State Police deployed armed patrol officers to provide surveillance at Camp Smith as a precaution.
Bryce Dubee, a public affairs specialist for the United States Army, told the media that Card did not receive training to be a weapons instructor in the Armed Forces.
His statements contrast with information reported by other media that identify Card as a military man with specialization in that area. In fact, a former colleague in the Armed Forces described Card in an interview with CNN as the best marksman in his unit.
Card accumulated several awards during his time in the Army due to his outstanding performance. These include the Army Achievement Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.
Authorities have not yet established the motive for the massacre in Lewiston that left 18 dead and another 13 injured in two shootings; the first at the “Just-In-Time” bowling alley, and the second at Schemengees Bar and Grille.
The man began the attack on Wednesday at around 6:56 pm and ended at approximately 7:08 pm, according to information released by the Maine State Police.
Authorities found Card dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head last night in Lisbon, not far from the Androscoggin River where he abandoned his vehicle before disappearing.
In Card’s home in Bowdoin, authorities found a “suicidal” note in which he warned that he would not be captured alive.
Keep reading:
Body of Maine gunman Robert Card found at recycling center where he was fired
Maine gunman Robert Card wrote in a letter that he would not be found alive
Who is Robert Card, suspected of killing 18 people in shootings in Lewiston, Maine?