Tearful relatives of Maine mass shooting victims plead for change to prevent future tragedies

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Tearfully relaying scenes of blood, chaos and panic, family members of the victims of Maine’s deadliest shooting described their unfathomable losses on Thursday as they implored an independent commission to make sure others never have to experience the same thing.

One by one, relatives of some of the 18 people killed by an Army reservist described their heartbreak, with several expressing frustration that neither law enforcement nor the military intervened to take weapons from the shooter despite his deteriorating mental health.

“The system failed, and we can’t allow this to happen again,” said Kathleen Walker, whose husband, Jason, was killed while rushing at the gunman to try to stop him.

Along with Walker, speakers included Stacy Cyr, whose partner Michael Deslauriers also died charging at the gunman; Elizabeth Seal, who is caring for four children after the death of her husband, Joshua; and Megan Vozzella, whose husband, Steve, died two weeks shy of their one-year wedding anniversary. Deslauriers and Jason Walker were childhood friends.

Also testifying were members of the tightknit deaf community in Lewiston, which lost four people in the Oct. 25 shooting at a bowling alley and at a bar, which was hosting a deaf cornhole league. In addition to the deaths, 13 people were injured.

Witnesses said the flow of information to the deaf community was stymied by a lack of American Sign Language interpreters at the crime scene, in a hospital and at a location where relatives gathered. They also said translations of the earliest public briefings were spotty.

“We need to do something about this,” said Seal, who is deaf and whose husband was an ASL interpreter and advocate.

Daniel Wathen, former chief justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court and chair of the independent commission, said he agreed with Seal. “The word access has taken on new meaning both for me and the entire state of Maine,” Wathen said.

The commission was established by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and state Attorney General Aaron Frey to review events leading up to the shootings and make factual findings that can inform policy changes to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.

The gunman, Robert Card, 40, was experiencing a mental health breakdown before the shooting, and police and the Army were aware of his deteriorating mental health.

His son and ex-wife told police in May that Card was becoming paranoid and hearing voices, and a fellow reservist explicitly warned in September that he was going to commit a mass killing. In between, Card was hospitalized for two weeks for erratic behavior while his Maine-based Army Reserve unit was training in West Point, New York.

More than a month before the shootings, police went to Card’s home for a face-to-face assessment required under the state’s yellow flag law, which allows a judge to order the removal of guns from someone who is experiencing a psychiatric emergency. But Card refused to answer the door, and police said they couldn’t legally force the issue.

Tens of thousands of residents in Lewiston and neighboring communities were under a lockdown order after the shootings. Card’s body was found two days later. The medical examiner ruled that he died by suicide.

“This could have and should have been prevented,” Cyr told the panel. “Warning signs were ignored.”

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills made the shootings the focus of her annual State of the State address, using her speech to propose background checks for some private gun sales, expanded mental health treatment and a change to the yellow flag law.

The commission, which hopes to complete its work in six months, has said it needs subpoena power to complete its work, and a bill to provide that authority is advancing in the Legislature. On Wednesday, a committee unanimously supported subpoenas to compel interviews and documents.

The testimony on Thursday was graphic at times with references to bloodied victims and tourniquets. Cyr described being tormented by survivor’s guilt and recalled details of the bloody scene, saying, “No one should have to see what I saw or felt that night.”

Kathleen Walker described how the reality that nothing will ever be the same is driven home regularly by things both large and small, such as signing Christmas gift cards simply from “Mom” instead of from “Mom and Dad” as she had done for the previous 24 years.

Cassandra Violette, daughter-in-law of shooting victims Bob and Lucy Violette, described having a panic attack and vomiting as she boarded a plane moments after learning that Lucy had died. She also described taking possession of items, including Bob’s bloodied wedding ring.

Rachael Sloat was engaged to be married to shooting victim Peyton Brewer Ross, a shipbuilder at the U.S. Navy’s Bath Iron Works. She told the committee how her heart breaks every time her 2-year-old asks for her daddy, and she pleaded for changes in the system.

“Where are you?” she said through tears. “Every politician, every member of law enforcement, every registered voter in the country — I want you to hear those words. ‘Where are you?’ Because my fellow Americans, where are you? We failed my little girl. That’s all I have to say.”

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Associated Press writer Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine, contributed to this report.

David Sharp, The Associated Press