AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — An independent commission investigating the events leading up to the deadliest mass shooting in Maine history is poised to hear heartbreaking stories Thursday from some of the victims' families.
Seven family members were expected to publicly address the panel and put a human face to their grief and suffering.
The shooting occurred Oct. 25, when an Army reservist opened fire with an assault rifle at a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston where a cornhole tournament was being held. 18 people were killed and 13 injured.
Speakers were expected to include survivors Kathleen Walker and Stacey Seal, who lost their partners, and childhood friends Jason Walker and Michael Deslauriers, who charged the gunman. Elizabeth Seal is caring for her four children after the death of her husband Joshua. And Megan Vosella lost her husband, Steve, two weeks before their first anniversary.
The commission will examine the events leading up to the tragedy and establish facts that can inform policies and procedures to avoid future tragedies, including Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and state Attorney General Aaron Frey. was founded by.
The gunman, 40-year-old Robert Card, had been suffering from declining mental health prior to the shooting, and police were aware that his mental health was deteriorating.
In May, Card's son and ex-wife told police that Card had become paranoid and could hear voices, and in September he explicitly warned his fellow reservists that he was planning to commit mass murder. Meanwhile, Card was hospitalized for two weeks due to unusual behavior while a Maine-based Army Reserve unit was training in West Point, New York.
More than a month before the shooting, police went to Card's home, required under the state's yellow flag law, which allows a judge to order guns removed from someone experiencing a mental health emergency. A face-to-face appraisal was conducted. But Cards refused to respond, saying police could not legally force the matter.
Tens of thousands of residents in Lewiston and nearby areas were placed under lockdown orders after the shooting. Card's body was discovered two days later. The coroner ruled that he died by suicide.
The governor is not waiting for the commission's work to be completed to begin making policy changes to prevent tragedies like this in the future.
This week, she will strengthen background checks for private gun sales, strengthen mental health care, and begin a process to remove weapons from people in mental health crisis by eliminating in-person visits. He proposed allowing police to petition a judge.
The committee will be chaired by Daniel Wasen, former chief justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Other members include former federal prosecutor Paula Silsbee and former state chief forensic psychologist Debra Bader.
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