‘Significant evidence’ of traumatic brain injuries found in study of Lewiston mass shooter’s brain

LEWISTON, ME — The family of Lewiston mass shooter Robert Card released the findings of his brain tissue analysis on Wednesday afternoon.

Card killed 18 people in the deadliest shooting in Maine history in October 2023 before committing suicide. He was 40 years old at the time of his death.

The Maine Medical Examiner’s Office requested a post-mortem study of his brain by the Boston University CTE Center.

Dr. Ann McKee, Director of the BU CTE Center, says she found significant evidence of traumatic brain injuries at the time of the shootings.

“In the white matter, the nerve fibers that allow for communication between different areas of the brain, there was significant degeneration, axonal and myelin loss, inflammation, and small blood vessel injury,” Dr. McKee said. “These findings align with our previous studies on the effects of blast injury in humans and experimental models. 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.”

Officials say there was no evidence of CTE in Card’s brain samples.

Card had previous military experience in the U.S. Army Reserves. According to authorities, he was a longtime instructor at an Army hand grenade training range, where he was reportedly exposed to thousands of low-level blasts.

In a statement, Card’s family say the injuries to Robert’s brain by no means excuse what happened:

“We want to begin by saying how deeply sorry and heartbroken we are for all the victims, survivors, and their loved ones, and to everyone in Maine and beyond who was affected and traumatized by this tragedy. 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. While we cannot go back, we are releasing the findings of Robert’s brain study with the goal of supporting ongoing efforts to learn from this tragedy to ensure it never happens again. We thank the Maine Chief Medical Examiner’s office for requesting the brain analysis. We know it does not fully explain Robert’s actions, nor is it an excuse for the horrific suffering he caused, but we thank Dr. McKee for helping us understand his brain damage and how it may have impacted his mental health and behavior. By releasing these findings, we hope to raise awareness of traumatic brain injury among military service members, and we encourage more research and support for military service members with traumatic brain injuries. Our hearts remain with the victims, survivors, and their families.”

—  The Family of Robert Russell Card II

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