A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The final report is out in an investigation into the deadliest mass shooting in Maine's history.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Last year, a man with an assault rifle opened fire at two popular night spots in Lewiston, Maine, killing 18 people, and then took his own life. Yesterday, an investigative panel released its findings on the events leading up to that tragedy.
MARTÍNEZ: We're joined now by Kevin Miller with Maine Public Radio to talk about the, quote, "multiple missed opportunities" that were highlighted in that report. Kevin, the special commission found a number of failures on the part of law enforcement and the Army Reserves. What did the report have to say?
KEVIN MILLER, BYLINE: Yeah, that's right. The report found that the leaders of the gunman's Army Reserve unit failed to take the necessary steps to, quote, "reduce the threat" that the gunman, Robert Card, posed to the public, but members of Robert Card's family had also raised concerns about his increasing paranoia and his access to guns. Card was acting erratically and aggressively during a training mission, and Reserve leaders actually ordered him to undergo an evaluation, and he spent about two weeks in a psychiatric hospital - but the commission said those Reserve leaders didn't do enough after his release from that hospital. Here's the commission chairman, Dan Wathen.
DAN WATHEN: Despite their knowledge, they ignored the strong recommendation of Card's mental health providers to stay engaged with his care, and take steps to remove weapons from his home.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. So given those warning signs, why weren't his guns taken away?
MILLER: The report says the local sheriff's office had, quote, "sufficient probable cause" to take Robert Card into protective custody. Now, Maine has a yellow flag law on the books, where if a medical professional and a judge agree that someone poses a high enough threat, that person could be forced to temporarily give up their guns, but that never happened in this case. Sheriff's officials said at the time that Card hadn't committed any crimes, and they suggested that his Reserve leaders actually downplayed the threat that he posed. Reserve leaders dispute that, and they said they really had no legal authority to take his personal guns, so there's been a lot of finger-pointing over who was most at fault.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. So what about the family members of the victims? I mean, what did they have to say about this report?
MILLER: Well, immediately after the report was released, the attorneys for the victims' families and survivors held a press conference on the steps of Lewiston City Hall. They agreed with a lot of the conclusions, but one of the attorneys, Ben Gideon, also made clear that this isn't over.
BEN GIDEON: The next step in this process needs to be real accountability, and that's where we come in. And in the next few months, you will be hearing what that plan entails, in terms of the civil lawsuits and cases that we will be pursuing on behalf of all of our clients.
MARTÍNEZ: All right, so definitely sounds like it's, as you said, not over. What else might come out of this?
MILLER: Well, the commission didn't make any policy recommendations. They said that's really up to elected leaders. State officials actually passed several laws earlier this year tightening gun restrictions - things like expanded background checks and a waiting period on gun purchases. And that was really a big deal in a gun-friendly state like Maine, but it'll be interesting to see whether this latest report sparks any discussion of additional policy changes.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's Kevin Miller with Maine Public Radio. Kevin, thank you.
MILLER: Thank you.
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