Current:Home > MyMaine mass shooter Robert Card had 'traumatic brain injuries,' new report shows -MoneyStream
Maine mass shooter Robert Card had 'traumatic brain injuries,' new report shows
View
Date:2025-04-17 16:39:19
The gunman who carried out the worst mass shooting in Maine history had suffered severe brain damage that could stem from exposure to training blasts in the military, a study found.
A post-mortem analysis of Robert Card's brain by Boston University's CTE Center, completed at the request of the Maine Chief Medical Examiner’s Office, revealed "significant evidence of traumatic brain injuries at the time of the shootings." Card's family made the findings public and declined to comment.
Among the injuries recorded by researchers were damage to the fibers that allow communication between areas of the brain, inflammation and a small blood vessel injury, according to the report signed by Dr. Ann McKee, director of the lab at Boston University, and released Wednesday. She said there was no evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disease often found in athletes and military veterans who have suffered repetitive head trauma.
"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," McKee said.
The lab report showed that white matter in the brain had "moderately severe" damage and was missing entirely in some areas, according to The New York Times, which first reported the story. The tissues meant to insulate biological circuits were in "disorganized clumps." The rest of Card's brain also showed scarring and inflammation, which suggests repeated trauma.
Dr. Lee Goldstein, professor of neurology at Boston University who analyzed the brain tissue, told the newspaper cablelike cells that facilitated communication deep in the brain had lost protective wrapping and in some instances were missing or "filled with cellular garbage bags."
Although she didn't examine Card's brain or view the scans, Kristen Dams-O'Connor, director of the Brain Injury Research Center at Mount Sinai, said the descriptions available provide "compelling" evidence the clinical consequences he experienced came from brain injury.
"Without hard evidence defining 'safe' levels of blast exposure − if there is such a thing − we can't prevent this outcome, and these families won't be the last to be left heartbroken," she said. "There is an urgent need to address the question of 'how much is too much' when it comes to blast exposure."
The brain tissue sample was sent to the lab last fall by Maine's chief medical examiner. At that time, a Pentagon spokesperson said the Army was working to better understand the relationship between “blast overpressure” and brain health effects and had instituted several measures to reduce soldiers’ exposure, including limiting the number of personnel near blasts.
On Oct. 25, the 40-year-old Army reservist opened fire at a bar and bowling alley in Lewiston, killing 18 people and wounding 13. Days later, after an intense search that kept residents across the city locked in their homes, authorities found Card dead of a gunshot wound.
Card is believed to have been exposed to thousands of blasts during his time as an instructor at a hand grenade training facility, the report says. His family said in a statement that it released the findings in part to "raise awareness of traumatic brain injury among military service members" and "encourage more research and support for military service members with traumatic brain injuries."
Over months, Card's family and fellow servicemen reported his increasingly erratic behavior to authorities, saying he was hearing voices and possibly stashing guns and that he had punched a soldier and threatened to shoot up a National Guard facility.
Card was taken to a psychiatric hospital for two weeks of treatment in July 2023. But even after he was released, there were several other reports of violence and alarming statements involving him to Army officials and local law enforcement in the two months before the shooting.
In their statement accompanying the brain study, Card's family apologized to the victims and their families.
"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," the statement said. "We know it does not fully explain Robert’s actions, nor is it an excuse for the horrific suffering he caused."
Contributing: The Associated Press
Adrianna Rodriguez is a health reporter for the USA TODAY nation team. Contact Adrianna at adrodriguez@usatoday.com or @AdriannaUSAT on X.
veryGood! (72)
Related
- Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
- Australian man arrested for starting fire at Changi Airport
- Horoscopes Today, December 11, 2024
- Alex Jones keeps Infowars for now after judge rejects The Onion’s winning auction bid
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- Arctic Tundra Shifts to Source of Climate Pollution, According to New Report Card
- New York Climate Activists Urge Gov. Hochul to Sign ‘Superfund’ Bill
- Austin Tice's parents reveal how the family coped for the last 12 years
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Michael Cole, 'The Mod Squad' and 'General Hospital' actor, dies at 84
Ranking
- A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
- Pakistan ex
- With the Eras Tour over, what does Taylor Swift have up her sleeve next? What we know
- A Malibu wildfire prompts evacuation orders and warnings for 20,000, including Dick Van Dyke, Cher
- Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
- US inflation likely edged up last month, though not enough to deter another Fed rate cut
- Rebecca Minkoff says Danny Masterson was 'incredibly supportive to me' at start of career
- Orcas are hunting whale sharks. Is there anything they can't take down?
Recommendation
'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
What is Sora? Account creation paused after high demand of AI video generator
Social media platform Bluesky nearing 25 million users in continued post
Hougang murder: Victim was mum of 3, moved to Singapore to provide for family
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
When does the new season of 'Virgin River' come out? Release date, cast, where to watch
With the Eras Tour over, what does Taylor Swift have up her sleeve next? What we know
Making a $1B investment in the US? Trump pledges expedited permits — but there are hurdles