Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Thursday signed an executive order to establish an independent commission that will be tasked with investigating the facts and circumstances that led up to the moment a gunman opened fire at a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston, claiming the lives of 18 people in late October in what marked the state’s deadliest shootings.
“The commission’s charge is to determine the facts of the October 25th shootings, including the months preceding them, and the police response,” Mills said in a statement.
Mills said that she has appointed seven experts with extensive legal, investigative, and mental health backgrounds to look into Army reservist Robert Card, who was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head days after the shootings.
“Frey and I made clear that the Independent Commission must conduct itself in an independent and objective manner guided only by the pursuit of the facts,” Mills added.
Months before Card carried out the killings, his family contacted authorities with concerns about his deteriorating mental health. Fellow soldiers also expressed concerns about Card’s mental health, including one of them who sent a text message in September saying, “I believe he’s going to snap and do a mass shooting,” according to law enforcement.
Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King said in a letter to the U.S. Army inspector general earlier this week that it’s important to understand “what occurred or failed to occur” at the federal level prior to the shootings.
Mills said the following individuals will make up the independent commission:
The Honorable Daniel E. Wathen, Commission Chair: Former Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Dr. Debra Baeder, Ph.D: Former Chief Forensic Psychologist for the State of Maine
George (Toby) Dilworth: Former Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Maine and current Managing Director, Drummond Woodsum
The Honorable Ellen Gorman: Former Associate Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court
The Honorable Geoffrey Rushlau: Former Maine District Court Judge and former District Attorney for Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox, and Waldo Counties
Dr. Anthony Ng, MD: Board-certified psychiatrist and medical director of Community Services for Northern Light Acadia Hospital
Paula Silsby: Former United States Attorney for the District of Maine.
Today, I signed an Executive Order to establish the Independent Commission to Investigate the Facts of the Tragedy in...
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