ANALYSIS – America has an epidemic of mental illness, not a ‘gun violence' crisis. We also have a problem not enforcing existing gun laws, as in this horrific case, and with Hunter Biden, the admitted illegal drug abuser.
Meanwhile, the manhunt continues for 40-year-old Robert R. Card, the suspect in the Lewiston, Maine, shootings that killed at least 18 people and injured 13 others.
Some of the injured may eventually become fatalities. Not all the victims have been identified.
The death toll from this madman's murderous rampage nearly matches the total annual number of homicides in the state of Maine. Twenty-nine murders were reported in all of 2022.
The mainstream media and the White House will, of course, be focusing on calling this another horrible example of ‘gun violence.' He was initially described as an Army-trained firearms instructor, which caught my attention, but that turned out to be false. (RELATED: Liberal Outlet Spins Misleading Israel-Palestine Story)
He is not a firearms instructor, though he is in the Army Reserve.
I would also add that he is mentally ill, having been institutionalized in the summer of 2023, and had threatened to commit a shooting at the local military base.
The massacres took place at a bowling alley in Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley and at Schemengees Bar & Grille. They are about four miles apart from each other.
Both were popular entertainment spots and very soft, undefended targets. With 38,000 residents, Lewiston is the state's second-largest city and is located about 36 miles north of Portland. Residents refer to it as a big ‘small town.'
Card is considered armed and dangerous.
Police are urging residents to shelter in place and report any suspicious activity to authorities. Card's loved ones are publicly urging him to turn himself in. He had been driving a white Subaru Outback, but that vehicle was later found in Lisbon, about eight miles away from the shooting sites. (RELATED: Suspect In Fatal Shooting Of Maryland Judge Found Dead)
A coordinated search is being conducted by numerous law enforcement agencies led by the Maine State Police but also including U.S. Marshals and others.
Initially, Card was a person of interest before being named the prime suspect.
A member of the Army Reserve stationed out of the National Guard base at Saco, Maine, Card is said to be a skilled outdoorsman and was among the top shooters in his unit, according to reports.
He enlisted in the Army in 2002 and is a petroleum supply specialist, CNN noted.
The New York Post reported that:
He has no combat deployments, Army records show, but has extensive firearms training and is an “outdoors type of guy” who “would be very comfortable in the woods,” Clifford Steeves, who trained and served with Card in the reserves, told the outlet.
Photos of Card with an AR-15 style rifle do seem to show he is very comfortable and familiar with firearms.
Vice President Kamala Harris offered her sympathies to, “yet another community torn apart by senseless gun violence.” Instead, she should have noted it was yet another murder committed by America's growing number of mentally ill persons.
Joe Biden also used this tragic shooting to renew his call for congressional Republicans to support a ban on ‘assault rifles' and other limits on firearms.
“Work with us to pass a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines,” Biden said.
But Maine has a ‘Yellow Flag' law that would permit law enforcement to restrict Card's possession of firearms.
Why wasn't it enforced? It is still unknown if mental health officials notified law enforcement of Card's recent two-week stay in a mental health facility.
If they hadn't, they should have and should be held responsible. If they did inform police, but law enforcement did nothing, then they should be held responsible.
But it was clear to everyone around Card that he was having a mental health crisis for months. And no one took action.
The New York Post reported:
…Card was struggling with his mental health and claimed to family [that] he overheard people talking about him at the bowling alley and bar where he is accused of opening fire Wednesday, according to his sister-in-law.
“He truly believed he was hearing people say things. This all just happened within the last few months,” Katie O'Neill, who is married to Card's brother, told the Daily Beast Thursday.
“I have known Rob my whole life. He is quiet but the most loving, hardworking, and kind person that I know. But in the past year, he had an acute episode of mental health,” she added.
In the months prior to the shooting, Card started using high-powered hearing aids to better hear the people supposedly talking about him.
His rampage was the product of a major failure, but it's not a failure of gun ownership, the Second Amendment or of current gun laws. It is a failure of our existing gun laws not being enforced.
It is also a product of our country's failure to deal with its out-of-control mental health crisis.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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