Maine mass shooting suspect Robert Card: A gun-obsessed former soldier with a history of mental health issues

Robert Card, the prime suspect in a mass shooting spree that left 18 people dead in Maine on Wednesday, is a gun-obsessed former soldier with a history of mental health issues.

Card, 40, was admitted to a mental health facility this summer, according to a state law enforcement bulletin obtained by NBC News. The details of his condition and treatment weren’t immediately available.

The bulletin also stated that Card was hearing voices and had once threatened to shoot up a National Guard base in Saco, Maine. Card also made statements targeting his own unit, which alarmed his military reserve commanders, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

Card didn’t appear to have any previous charges related to violence in Maine, according to public records. However, he was known in his hometown of Bowdoin, Maine as a “gun fanatic.”

“It’s known in the town to stay away from them and to not approach them,” Liam Kent, who grew up in Bowdoin, told NBC News. “If you see them, just turn around and walk away.”

Card also studied engineering at the University of Maine from 2001 to 2004.

His social media suggests a violent conservative media diet. On X, formerly Twitter, Card often liked posts from former President Donald Trump, conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson, and a professor who taught about terrorism. He also liked a March post from Donald Trump Jr. following a mass shooting in Nashville that read, “rather than talking about guns we should be talking about lunatics pushing their gender affirming bulls**t on our kids?” Card’s X account was suspended after the shooting.

Card’s whereabouts are unknown, but police found his abandoned vehicle at a boat launch area in Lisbon Falls, Maine. According to public records, Card has two watercraft registered to his name, including a 1989 Bayliner.

Police are urging anyone with information about Card’s whereabouts to contact them immediately.