Watch now: ‘Breakdown in Maine’ a FRONTLINE documentary
FRONTLINE, the Portland Press Herald and Maine Public investigate the deadliest mass shooting in Maine history and the missed opportunities to prevent it. The documentary examines breakdowns with police, military and mental health care in the lead-up to the Lewiston shooting in October 2023.
The film has been nominated for a George Foster Peabody Award for public service and two news and documentary Emmy awards.
Breakdown podcast: Turning anguish into action
Breakdown: Turning anguish into action | Podcast Ep. 1: Did we really survive this?
We meet several people who are trying to recover from the Lewiston mass shooting and learn about the fallout for members of the shooter’s family, who must also contend with his painful legacy.
Breakdown: Turning anguish into action | Podcast Ep. 2: ‘I believe he is going to snap’
Six weeks before the attacks, the shooter’s best friend warned that he might snap and commit a mass shooting. Episode 2 begins an examination into the numerous opportunities for intervention.
Breakdown: Turning anguish into action | Podcast Ep. 3: ‘Dereliction of duty’
Episode 3 looks at questionable medical decisions, missed communication and lack of follow up by the Army. Finally, we’ll learn why the shooter’s family believes the military could do more to prevent brain injuries in troops.
Stories in this series
A year after the Lewiston mass shooting, six portraits of grief
18 people were killed, 13 were shot and survived, and many others witnessed the deadliest attack in Maine’s history. A year later, we look at how some have navigated the aftermath.
Lewiston counseling center helps community navigate grief from mass shooting
The Maine Resiliency Center opened just 19 days after the mass shooting and has become a critical resource for more than 400 people. Some are trying to keep it open permanently.
More stories about the Oct. 25, 2023 shooting
Army says it couldn’t use N.Y.’s red flag law to disarm Lewiston gunman
Maj. Matthew Dickison, who evaluated Robert Card initially, tells the commission investigating the mass shooting that New York’s law doesn’t appear to apply to non-residents.
‘We’ll always blame ourselves’: Card family shares its pain over collective failure to prevent Lewiston mass shooting
Members of Robert Card’s family broke their public silence Thursday to make emotional pleas for improvements to the Army, law enforcement and mental health systems that they say failed to help them in the months before he committed the state’s deadliest mass shooting.
‘I’ll never give up on you’: Lewiston shooter’s friends knew he needed help
Daryl Reed, the soldier whom Robert Card threatened during the unit’s annual training, and Sean Hodgson, who was Card’s closest friend, spoke for the first time in front of the commission investigating the mass shooting.
Sagadahoc sheriff candidates don’t want Lewiston mass shooting to define them
Amid biting criticism for the department’s failings before the tragedy on Oct. 25, incumbent Sheriff Joel Merry and Sgt. Aaron Skolfield forge ahead.
Army Reserve commander defends unit’s response to Lewiston shooter’s mental health
Robert Card’s battalion commander said his team did all it could to respond to warnings about Card’s failing mental health last year and that his medical providers and police should have taken more responsibility.
Commission: Police should have seized Lewiston shooter’s guns months before tragedy
The interim report, which also faults the Army, calls a Sagadahoc County deputy’s failure to take Robert Card into custody in mid-September ‘an abdication of law enforcement’s responsibility.”‘
Army gave Lewiston gunman glowing review 6 months before massacre
Personnel records released Monday show that Robert Card continued to get stellar evaluations from his superiors – even after his family began noticing paranoid behavior.
Why didn’t Sagadahoc deputies charge Lewiston gunman with terrorizing?
That question was a key moment in a hearing last week before the governor’s commission investigating the mass shooting. Police say that even though Robert Card had threatened to commit a mass shooting, it wasn’t enough to bring him into custody.
‘Do not open that door for nobody’: Dozens called 911 in first minutes after Lewiston shootings began
The Maine State Police have released copies of 51 calls made to 3 communication centers on the night of the Oct. 25 shootings.
Six police departments, including Portland, have used Maine’s yellow flag law for the first time since Lewiston shootings
Law enforcement agencies used the law to remove guns from a person 36 times since the Lewiston shootings last month, marking a significant increase over the previous 10 months.
The FBI set a standard for active shooter training. Ten years later, Maine still isn’t widely using it.
Ongoing training varies by department and agency, and not all departments use the program identified by the FBI as the national standard for active shooter trainings.
‘I should have died’: 4 friends recount the horror of the Lewiston shootings
Those who survived the worst massacre in Maine’s history carry unimaginable scars, including four women who were inside Schemengees Bar & Grille when a gunman opened fire.
