Brain Examination Reveals TBIs in Lewiston, Maine Mass Shooter

It's been about five months since the horrific mass shooting at multiple locations in Lewiston, Maine.

It was Wednesday, October 25, 2023, when Robert Card killed 18 people and injured 13 others in a shooting spree that spanned from Just-in-Time Recreation to Schemengees bar.

Following a massive multi-day manhunt, police finally found Card's body, dead from suicide, inside a storage trailer in Lisbon Falls.

Card's brain was sent to specialists at Boston University's CTE Center, and now, that probe into the killer's brain has produced some disturbing findings.

According to a press release from the Concussion Legacy Foundation on behalf of the Card Family , experts were able to identify that Card had "evidence of traumatic brain injury."

The press release noted that Card was also an Army hand-grenade instructor who had been "exposed to thousands of low-level blasts."

Dr. Ann McKee, the team lead for the investigation of Card's brain, said about the findings in Card's brain in the press release:

In the white matter, the nerve fibers that allow for communication between different areas of the brain, there was significant degeneration, axonal and myelin loss, inflammation, and small blood vessel injury. There was no evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). These findings align with our previous studies on the effects of blast injury in humans and experimental models. While I cannot say with certainty that these pathological findings underlie Mr. Card’s behavioral changes in the last 10 months of life, based on our previous work, brain injury likely played a role in his symptoms.”

Additionally, in the press release, the Card family released a statement expressing profound sorrow and empathy for all affected by the tragedy. They hope that sharing the findings of the brain study will contribute to ongoing efforts to prevent such events and help raise awareness and support for military personnel with traumatic brain injuries.

“We want to begin by saying how deeply sorry and heartbroken we are for all the victims, survivors, and their loved ones, and to everyone in Maine and beyond who was affected and traumatized by this tragedy. We are hurting for you and with you, and it is hard to put into words how badly we wish we could undo what happened. While we cannot go back, we are releasing the findings of Robert’s brain study with the goal of supporting ongoing efforts to learn from this tragedy to ensure it never happens again. We thank the Maine Chief Medical Examiner’s office for requesting the brain analysis. We know it does not fully explain Robert’s actions, nor is it an excuse for the horrific suffering he caused, but we thank Dr. McKee for helping us understand his brain damage and how it may have impacted his mental health and behavior. By releasing these findings, we hope to raise awareness of traumatic brain injury among military service members, and we encourage more research and support for military service members with traumatic brain injuries. Our hearts remain with the victims, survivors, and their families.”