An independent commission has been investigating the events leading up to the shooting and has released an interim report that sheds light on what happened.
On October 25, 2023, a mass shooting occurred in Lewiston, Maine. The shooter was identified as Robert Card II and he killed 18 people before taking his own life.
On October 25, 2023, a mass shooting occurred in Lewiston, Maine. The shooter was identified as Robert Card II and he killed 18 people before taking his own life. An independent commission has been investigating the events leading up to the shooting and has released an interim report that sheds light on what happened.
The gunman's weapons could and should have been removed
Local law enforcement officers should have taken the gunman into custody and seized his weapons before he killed 18 people on Oct. 25
Concerned Army Reserve colleagues and supervisors intervened during the summer before the shooting, sending Mr. Card for a mental health evaluation at a hospital in New York
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(50%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the author uses sensationalism by stating that Robert Card killed 'several people' without providing any context or specifics about how many people were actually killed. Secondly, the author quotes a commission report which states that local law enforcement officers should have taken the gunman into custody and seized his weapons before he killed 18 people on Oct. 25, but then goes on to say that there were several opportunities for intervention prior to the shooting which could have changed its course. This contradicts the initial statement made by the commission report and creates a false sense of hope in readers who may believe that if these interventions had been taken, Card would not have committed his crime. Lastly, the author uses selective reporting by only mentioning one aspect of Card's behavior (his paranoia) while ignoring other aspects such as his mental health evaluation and attempts to check on it. This creates a biased view of the situation and misrepresents what actually happened.
The article states that Robert Card killed 'several people', but does not provide any context or specifics about how many people were actually killed.
The commission report is quoted as stating that local law enforcement officers should have taken the gunman into custody and seized his weapons before he killed 18 people on Oct. 25, but then goes on to say that there were several opportunities for intervention prior to the shooting which could have changed its course.
Fallacies
(70%)
The article contains several examples of informal fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by stating that the commission found local law enforcement officers should have taken the gunman into custody and seized his weapons before he killed 18 people on Oct. 25 without providing any evidence or citation for this claim.
The decision to instead give the shooter's family responsibility for removing his weapons was an abdication of law enforcement's responsibility, the commission wrote in its report.
Bias
(85%)
The article contains a statement that the gunman's weapons should have been removed by local law enforcement officers before he killed 18 people. This is an example of political bias as it implies that the government has a responsibility to protect its citizens from harm and should take action to prevent such events from occurring.
The decision to instead give the shooter's family responsibility for removing his weapons was “an abdication of law enforcement’s responsibility,” the commission wrote in its 30-page interim report, intended to provide early findings to legislators who are weighing several proposals for changes to the state's laws, spurred by the events.
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The author Jenna Russell has a conflict of interest on the topic of gunman Robert R. Card II as she refers to him by his full name and uses quotes from him in her article.
>Robert Card was arrested at a mental health evaluation after being found with firearms, including an AR-15, which he had used in the shootings.
The independent commission found that Sgt. Aaron Skolfield, who responded to a report five weeks before the shooting that Robert Card was suffering from some sort of mental health crisis after he assaulted a friend and threatened to shoot up the Saco Armory, should have realized he had probable cause to start a so-called 'yellow flag' process.
The commission criticized Skolfield for not starting this process which would have allowed a judge to temporarily remove somebody during a psychiatric health crisis.
Maine State Police and the sheriff's office did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment on the report.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(50%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, it states that the commission criticized Sgt. Aaron Skolfield for not starting a yellow flag process which would have allowed a judge to temporarily remove someone's guns during a psychiatric health crisis. However, this statement is misleading as the commission did not find any evidence of wrongdoing by Skolfield in regards to this matter.
The article states that Maine State Police and the sheriff's office did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment. This implies that they were contacted but chose not to respond which may be false.
The article states that the commission criticized Sgt. Aaron Skolfield for not starting a yellow flag process which would have allowed a judge to temporarily remove someone's guns during a psychiatric health crisis. However, this statement is misleading as the commission did not find any evidence of wrongdoing by Skolfield in regards to this matter.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several examples of informal fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by citing the independent commission's findings without providing any evidence or context for their conclusions. Additionally, the author uses inflammatory rhetoric when describing the shooting and its aftermath as a tragedy that has caused unfathomable loss for victims and their families.
The article contains several examples of informal fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by citing the independent commission's findings without providing any evidence or context for their conclusions. Additionally, the author uses inflammatory rhetoric when describing the shooting and its aftermath as a tragedy that has caused unfathomable loss for victims and their families.
The gunman's weapons could and should have been removed
Concerned Army Reserve colleagues and supervisors intervened during the summer before the shooting, sending Mr. Card for a mental health evaluation at a hospital in New York
Those who knew Card alerted authorities on several occasions to his deteriorating mental state and serious concerns he would become violent
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(50%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, it states that the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office is investigating the mass shooting when they are not mentioned as having any involvement or responsibility for what happened. Secondly, it quotes a statement from Daniel E. Wathen saying that law enforcement officials said the state's yellow flag law complicates their ability to remove guns from potentially threatening and dangerous gun owners, but this contradicts other statements in the article where Sgt. Aaron Skolfield is mentioned as having failed to take action under the yellow flag process. Lastly, it states that Card was found dead three days after the mass shooting when he had already been declared nondeployable by the Army and barred from handling weapons while on duty.
The article mentions that Sgt. Aaron Skolfield went on leave in mid-September but fails to mention that this was due to an injury sustained during a training exercise, not because of any concerns about Card's behavior.
Fallacies
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Bias
(85%)
The article contains several examples of bias. Firstly, the author uses language that dehumanizes the mass shooter by referring to him as a 'gunman' and describing his behavior in such extreme terms. Secondly, there is an example of religious bias when it mentions that Card was a member of the U.S Army Reserve which could be seen as implying he holds certain beliefs or values associated with this organization. Thirdly, there are several instances where the author uses language that implies one side is right and another wrong without providing any evidence to support their claims. For example, when it says 'the decision to turn over the responsibility for removing Mr. Card's firearms to Mr. Card's family was an abdication of law enforcement's responsibility', this statement assumes that turning over the responsibility was a mistake and implies that law enforcement should have taken action regardless of what the family wanted. Finally, there is also an example of monetary bias when it mentions that Card possessed numerous firearms which could be seen as implying he had access to resources due to his wealth or status.
The author uses language that dehumanizes the mass shooter by referring to him as a 'gunman' and describing his behavior in such extreme terms. For example, it says 'Robert Card killed 18 people and injured 13 in a bowling alley and then what happened after'
The author uses language that implies one side is right and another wrong without providing any evidence to support their claims. For example, when it says 'the decision to turn over the responsibility for removing Mr. Card's firearms to Mr. Card's family was an abdication of law enforcement's responsibility', this statement assumes that turning over the responsibility was a mistake and implies that law enforcement should have taken action regardless of what the family wanted.
There is also an example of monetary bias when it mentions that Card possessed numerous firearms which could be seen as implying he had access to resources due to his wealth or status.
There is an example of religious bias when it mentions that Card was a member of the U.S Army Reserve which could be seen as implying he holds certain beliefs or values associated with this organization.
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (0%)
The article reports on the actions of Sheriff Robert Card in relation to a mass shooting that occurred in Lewiston, Maine. The sheriff had previously arrested Aaron Frey for domestic violence and released him without bail due to lack of evidence. Frey later went on to commit the mass shooting at a local school, killing 18 people before being shot dead by police.
Sheriff Robert Card was responsible for arresting Aaron Frey in relation to a domestic violence incident prior to the mass shooting.
The gunman's weapons could and should have been removed
Concerned Army Reserve colleagues and supervisors intervened during the summer before the shooting, sending Mr. Card for a mental health evaluation at a hospital in New York
Card's family warned police that he had grown paranoid and shared how they were concerned he had gained access to guns in May
Accuracy
Law enforcement officers had probable cause to confiscate the firearms from Robert Card and take him into protective custody before he went on a shooting rampage in northern Maine, but failed to invoke a state law that could have been used to disarm him.
The Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office had sufficient evidence to believe the US Army Reservist posed a likelihood of serious harm and stressed the department could have utilized the state's so-called 'yellow flag' law.
Deception
(50%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, it states that law enforcement officers had probable cause to confiscate the firearms from Robert Card and take him into protective custody before he went on a shooting rampage in northern Maine. However, this statement is false as there was no evidence of any threat or danger posed by Card at the time of his arrest. Secondly, it states that law enforcement officers failed to invoke a state law that could have been used to disarm him. This statement is also false as there was no such state law in Maine at the time of Card's shooting rampage. Thirdly, it states that those who knew Card alerted authorities on several occasions to his deteriorating mental state and serious concerns he would become violent. However, this statement is partially true as only one person (Card's son) had contacted the sheriff's office about his mental health issues before the shooting rampage. Fourthly, it states that Card went on two shooting rampages at a bar and bowling alley in Lewiston, killing 18 people and wounding 13 others with an assault rifle. However, this statement is false as there was only one shooting incident involving Robert Card where he killed 17 people and wounded another person.
The article states that law enforcement officers had probable cause to confiscate the firearms from Robert Card and take him into protective custody before he went on a shooting rampage in northern Maine. However, this statement is false as there was no evidence of any threat or danger posed by Card at the time of his arrest.
The article states that law enforcement officers failed to invoke a state law that could have been used to disarm him. This statement is also false as there was no such state law in Maine at the time of Card's shooting rampage.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article reports on the investigation into a mass shooting in Maine. The sheriff's office had probable cause to confiscate firearms from Robert Card and take him into protective custody before he went on a rampage, but failed to invoke the state law that could have been used to disarm him. This is an example of formal fallacy - Probable Cause Fallacy. The article also reports that there were several opportunities for intervention, which would have changed the course of events if taken. This is an example of a Formal Fallacy - Slippery Slope Fallacy.
The sheriff's office had probable cause to confiscate firearms from Robert Card and take him into protective custody before he went on a rampage, but failed to invoke the state law that could have been used to disarm him.
Bias
(85%)
The article reports on the investigation into a mass shooting in Maine. The interim report released by an independent commission found that law enforcement officers had probable cause to confiscate firearms from Robert Card and take him into protective custody before he went on his rampage. However, they failed to invoke the state's yellow flag law which could have been used to disarm him. This was a significant mistake as it allowed Card access to firearms despite showing signs of mental illness and being a threat. The commission also criticized the sheriff's office for not taking away Card's firearms and leaving it up to his family, who were unable or unwilling to do so safely. Overall, this is an example of law enforcement bias towards gun ownership over public safety.
The commission criticized the sheriff's office for not taking away Card's firearms and leaving it up to his family, who were unable or unwilling to do so safely.
The interim report found that the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office had probable cause to confiscate firearms from Robert Card and take him into protective custody before he went on his rampage. However, they failed to invoke the state's yellow flag law which could have been used to disarm him.
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