Police who testified before an independent commission investigating the response to a mass shooting in Maine acknowledged potential missed opportunities to end a manhunt for the shooter that locked down the community, reports the Associated Press. Lawyers for victims had pointed to missed opportunities to prevent the shootings in the preceding weeks, as there had been warnings about the shooter Robert Card's deteriorating mental health and potential for violence.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills and state Attorney General Aaron Frey assembled the commission to review the events that led up to the shootings that killed 18 people at a bowling alley and a restaurant in Lewiston on Oct. 25. The shooter’s body was found at a recycling facility in Lisbon two days after the attacks. Officers who spoke Thursday acknowledged that they initially responded to the recycling facility, searched for signs that shooter Robert Card was there, and moved on after finding nothing. The search was also complicated by bad tips, officers said. Before the shooting, there were numerous signs Card was unstable. He underwent a mental health evaluation last year after he began acting erratically during Army Reserve training. He had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks and had made threats to "shoot up" an Army drill center in Maine. The commission is expected to produce a report in the coming months.