An Army reservist, responsible for the deadliest shooting in Maine's history, received a positive evaluation from his superiors despite growing concerns about his mental health. The annual review from April 2023 praised the reservist as a 'consummate professional' who excelled as a squad leader and provided exceptional mentoring to troops. Just six months later, the reservist, identified as a 40-year-old from Bowdoin, carried out a mass shooting that claimed the lives of 18 individuals before taking his own life.
Personnel files revealed that the reservist had undergone mental health-related training in the past when he volunteered to serve as one of the unit's suicide prevention officers and attended associated schooling in 2015-2016. His last evaluation, conducted shortly before his ex-wife and son reported concerns about his behavior to the police in May, did not reflect any mental health issues.
While no disciplinary records were released under the federal Freedom of Information Act, fellow reservists are scheduled to testify before an independent commission investigating the shootings that occurred at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston on October 25.
Body camera footage from police interviews with reservists revealed that some had expressed worry and alarm about the reservist's behavior before he was hospitalized in upstate New York for two weeks the previous summer. A close friend of the reservist had even warned a superior officer six weeks before the shooting that the reservist was on the verge of committing a mass shooting.
Despite these concerns, the reservist's personnel record, dating back to his enlistment in 2002, portrayed him as a dedicated and skilled professional. His final evaluation in April commended his exemplary performance as a senior trainer, highlighting his ability to train future leaders with care and attention to safety.
Three months after this positive evaluation, the reservist was hospitalized following an incident where he displayed paranoid behavior and made alarming statements to fellow reservists. He later took his own life in a tragic turn of events, ending the lives of 18 others and injuring 13 more.
