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 do something to make sure it never happens again.
One by one, relatives of some of the 18 people who died described their heartbreak, in ways both large and small.
“I’ve been thrust into experiencing every ‘without Jason’ first in quick succession: signing Christmas gift tags just ‘Mom’ after 24 years of signing them ‘Mom and Dad,'" said Kathleen Walker, whose husband, Jason, died rushing at the shooter. “The system failed, and we can’t allow this to happen again.”
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 that was hosting a cornhole tournament. In addition to the deaths, 13 people were injured.
Survivors said the flow of information to the deaf community was stymied by a lack of American Sign Language interpreters at the crime scene, in the hospitals and at the center where relatives had gathered. They also said translations of the earliest public news briefings were spotty.
“There were barriers to captioning,” said Seal, who is deaf, speaking via sign language that was then spoken by an interpreter. "Sometimes there was a lag in captioning. Sometimes there would be pop-ups that would hide the captioning. With Josh not being here, I feel that I need to take this on in his stead. We need to do something about this.”
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 then suggest policies to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.
The gunman, Robert Card, 40, was experiencing a mental health breakdown before the shooting, and police 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 and should have been prevented,” Stacy Cyr told the panel. “Warning signs were ignored.”
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.”
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.
Looking ahead, the commission 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 or documents. Both legislative chambers would have to approve the proposal with two-thirds majorities for it to go into effect immediately.
Other members of the independent commission include former U.S. Attorney Paula Silsby and Debra Baeder, Maine's former chief forensic psychologist.
Rachael Sloat, who was engaged to be married to shooting victim Peyton Brewer Ross, a shipbuilder at Bath Iron Works, described the heartbreak of her 2-year-old still asking for her daddy as 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? You failed my little girl. That’s all I have to say.”
