In the bloody aftermath of yet another mass shooting in Maine, 18 people lost their lives and several more were injured in the attack at two businesses, a bar and a bowling alley, in Lewiston. Robert Card, an Army reservist, was found dead within a few days. Perplexingly, his death was reported with two gunshots to the head in an apparent suicide, which strikes me as odd. There were several other factions of the story that didn’t make sense.
So what does this have to do with the sex offender registry? Specifically, the Maine Sex Offender Registry lists a man with the exact same first and last name as the shooter, who lived an hour away from Lewiston. This has been reported, incidentally, because early on there may have been speculation this was the same man, but of course that wouldn’t have made any sense as a convicted SO would not be allowed to serve in the US armed forces. So that is where the coincidence lays, and in fact it was reported that there was an RSO with the same name. This is where the coincidence ends; make no mistake that the registrant is at no way a fault. It should have ended there.
But in a recent report by put out by the NY Post and Fox News, there were indications that shooter Card was having many mental problems, so many that the military had to send special assessment and treatment workers to his place on some occasion. To be honest, I’m not sure if the guns were legally owned by Card; presumably if they were then a background check, assessment, and other factors would have limited his ability to legally own them. But that’s not in the scope of this article. What IS pertinent is that he had medical issues with regard to his mental status, and had just had a breakup with a girlfriend, though he still saw the kids.
And this brings us to the mental trigger point: What cause shooter Card to suddenly get back at people? From the Associated Press:
Documents Reveal Possible Motive Behind Maine Mass Shootings
Maine State Police documents shed light on why a delusional U.S. Army reservist who killed 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston may have targeted those locations.According to documents released Tuesday, state police interviewed a woman three hours after the shooting who said Robert Card believed the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, Schemengees Bar and Grille and several other businesses were “broadcasting online” that he was a pedophile.
Police also spoke to a man who said he had been to both locations with Card and that Card said he was accused of being a pedophile because he took a girlfriend’s daughters to eat at the bar and grill.
Ahhh…but HOW did they associate Card with being “a pedophile?” Seriously. Virtually every place I go to there are men without wives or gf’s present accompanied by kids in restaurants and in public places. Under what situation would they have accused this Robert Card of being a “pedophile?” There is ONE logical conclusion that can be explained: Someone saw his erratic behavior, and looked up his name on the Maine Sex Offender registry. And lo and behold! a registrant with the same first and last name of the man with the kids in the bar/bowling alley! Picture “kinda” looks like him, so …”it’s GOTTA be him!”
And THAT’S how the accusations fly. An innocent registrant (and yes, the registrant IS 100% innocent; he has served his sentence and is (ostensibly) as free as you and me (well those that aren’t registrants). But did the registrant’s inclusion in the registry lead to the citizenry making smart choices about the potential dangers to their children? In this case it may have led to the DEATHS of SEVERAL CHILDREN AND ADULTS!!
I call on law enforcement and on investigative reporters to get to the BOTTOM of this. The victims’ families are severely grieving. YES, shooter Card is ultimately responsible for his actions and should be remembered as such. But even so, the accusation of being a child sexual abuser is the absolute WORST accusation that can be made to anyone, and the presence of the registry proves it, as government is pressured to add restrictions and massive felonies to the slightest infractions of the registry. But in this case, it triggered a man who was clearly in mental distress, and I DARE SAY…that if the registry did NOT exist, and in extension the name of a man with similar looks lived in the vicinity of the bar/bowling alley, then THE SHOOTING WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED.
In short, the registry is unambiguously tied to this shooting, and should be investigated for this possibility. And I’ll make a FURTHER advisement: IF the bar and or bowling alley, in their official capacity, amplified the accusations of Card so that his life became relatively untenable that led to his shooting, then the grieving families of the victims should attain legal counsel and sue the PANTS off the businesses, and in fact look to suing the existence of the registry ITSELF. But I will never request the victims to do anything; their grief and their loss is beyond the pain that I can imagine. Just a thought.