Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Thursday signed an executive order to establish an independent commission that will be tasked with investigating the facts and circumstances that led up to the moment a gunman opened fire at a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston, claiming the lives of 18 people in late October in what marked the state’s deadliest shootings.
“The commission’s charge is to determine the facts of the October 25th shootings, including the months preceding them, and the police response,” Mills said in a statement.
Mills said that she has appointed seven experts with extensive legal, investigative, and mental health backgrounds to look into Army reservist Robert Card, who was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head days after the shootings.
“Frey and I made clear that the Independent Commission must conduct itself in an independent and objective manner guided only by the pursuit of the facts,” Mills added.
Police respond to an active shooter situation in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A sign advises residents to stay home, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, following a mass shooting at a restaurant and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine. Police continue to search for the suspect. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
This photo released by the Lewiston Maine Police Department shows Robert Card, who police have identified as a person of interest in connection to mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. ( Lewiston Maine Police Department via AP)
In this image taken from video released by the Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office, an unidentified gunman points a gun while entering Sparetime Recreation in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. Maine State Police ordered residents in the state's second-largest city to shelter in place Wednesday night as the suspect remains at large. (Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office via AP)
In this image taken from video released by the Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office, an unidentified gunman points a gun while entering Sparetime Recreation in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. Maine State Police ordered residents in the state's second-largest city to shelter in place Wednesday night as the suspect remains at large. (Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office via AP)
In this image taken from video released by the Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office, an unidentified gunman points a gun while entering Sparetime Recreation in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. Maine State Police ordered residents in the state's second-largest city to shelter in place Wednesday night as the suspect remains at large. (Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office via AP)
This photo released by the Lewiston, Maine, Police Department on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, shows a vehicle police are seeking information on in connection to an active shooter situation in Lewiston, Maine. (Lewiston Maine Police Department via AP)
A law enforcement officer carries a rifle outside Central Maine Medical Center during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Law enforcement officers carry rifles outside Central Maine Medical Center during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
People depart an emergency department entrance at Central Maine Medical Center, past a member of security, behind right, during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
People stand outside a reunification center early Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, at Auburn Middle School in Auburn, Maine, after shootings Wednesday at a bar and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
People depart a reunification center early Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, at Auburn Middle School, in Auburn, Maine, after shootings in Lewiston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
A woman is hugged by a man at a reunification center at Auburn Middle School, in Auburn, Maine, after shootings in Lewiston on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via AP)
Law enforcement gather outside Schemengee's Bar and Grille, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. Residents have been ordered to shelter in place as police continue to search for the suspect of Wednesday's mass shooting at the bar. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Law enforcement officers carry rifles outside Central Maine Medical Center during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Police respond to an active shooter situation in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A member of security, center right, stands at an emergency department entrance at Central Maine Medical Center during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
A sign signals the public to shelter in place during an active shooter situation on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. (Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via AP)
A police officer walks along a rural road during a manhunt for the suspect of Wednesday's mass shootings, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lisbon, Maine. The shootings took place at a restaurant and bowling alley in nearby Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
LEWISTON, MAINE - OCTOBER 26: A police officer blocks access to the road to Sparetime Recreation on October 26, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the mass shooting, Robert Card, who killed over 15 people in two separate shootings. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
LEWISTON, MAINE - OCTOBER 26: A police officer blocks access to the road to Sparetime Recreation on October 26, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the mass shooting, Robert Card, who killed over 15 people in two separate shootings. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
LEWISTON, MAINE - OCTOBER 26: The side of Sparetime Recreation on October 26, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the mass shooting, Robert Card, who killed over 15 people in two separate shootings. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
LEWISTON, MAINE - OCTOBER 26: Law enforcement officials investigate outside the Schemengees Bar and Grille on October 26, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the mass shooting, Robert Card, who killed over 15 people in two separate shootings. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
LEWISTON, MAINE - OCTOBER 26: A police officer blocks access to the road to Sparetime Recreation on October 26, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the mass shooting, Robert Card, who killed over 15 people in two separate shootings. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
Three vehicles transport the victims killed at Schemengees Bar and Grille, on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. The restaurant was the site of one of the two mass shootings in Lewiston on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
LEWISTON, MAINE - OCTOBER 26: Maine Governor Janet Mills speaks during a press conference about the mass shooting on October 26, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the shooting, Robert Card, who allegedly killed 18 people in two separate locations. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
LEWISTON, MAINE - OCTOBER 26: Jodie Cohen, Special Agent in charge of the FBI's Boston branch, gives an update during a press conference about the mass shooting on October 26, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the shooting, Robert Card, who allegedly killed 18 people in two separate locations on Wednesday night. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
Months before Card carried out the killings, his family contacted authorities with concerns about his deteriorating mental health. Fellow soldiers also expressed concerns about Card’s mental health, including one of them who sent a text message in September saying, “I believe he’s going to snap and do a mass shooting,” according to law enforcement.
Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King said in a letter to the U.S. Army inspector general earlier this week that it’s important to understand “what occurred or failed to occur” at the federal level prior to the shootings.
Mills said the following individuals will make up the independent commission:
The Honorable Daniel E. Wathen, Commission Chair: Former Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Dr. Debra Baeder, Ph.D: Former Chief Forensic Psychologist for the State of Maine
George (Toby) Dilworth: Former Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Maine and current Managing Director, Drummond Woodsum
The Honorable Ellen Gorman: Former Associate Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court
The Honorable Geoffrey Rushlau: Former Maine District Court Judge and former District Attorney for Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox, and Waldo Counties
Dr. Anthony Ng, MD: Board-certified psychiatrist and medical director of Community Services for Northern Light Acadia Hospital
Paula Silsby: Former United States Attorney for the District of Maine.
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