Family of Robert Card II releases findings of his brain tissue analysis in effort to prevent future tragedies

Note: Asking for privacy, the Card family will have no further comment and will not be speaking with the media or accepting any interview requests at this time.

(Boston) – The family of Robert Card II is releasing the findings of his brain tissue analysis through the Concussion Legacy Foundation (CLF) today in an effort to help prevent future tragedies. In October 2023, Card killed 18 people and injured more than a dozen others at multiple shootings in Lewiston, Maine before dying by suicide at age 40. The Maine Chief Medical Examiner’s office requested the post-mortem study of Card’s brain by the Boston University CTE Center, led by Ann McKee, MD.

Dr. McKee found Card had significant evidence of traumatic brain injuries at the time of the shootings.

“Robert Card had evidence of traumatic brain injury. 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. There was no evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE),” said Dr. McKee, director of the BU CTE Center. “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.”

Further studies on Card’s brain are being allowed by the family to continue supporting Dr. McKee’s research.

Card was a U.S. Army Reservist and a longtime instructor at an Army hand grenade training range, where it is believed he was exposed to thousands of low-level blasts.

“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