Fellow reservist warned of mass shooting before gunman's attack in Maine

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — An Army reservist and friend of the gunman behind Maine’s deadliest mass shooting testified Thursday about his friend's mental decline, describing publicly for the first time the warning he issued a month before the tragedy unfolded.

Sean Hodgson texted leaders of his reserve unit six weeks before the shooting that left 18 people dead and 13 wounded, telling them to change the passcode to the gate at their Army Reserve training facility and arm themselves if Robert Card showed up.

Hodgson told a panel investigating the mass shooting on Thursday that he issued the warning to superiors after Card’s delusional and violent behavior spiraled and ended with Card punching him in the face.

“I said ‘Just so you know, I love you. I’ll always be there for you. I won’t give up on you.’ He had that blank stare on his face. It was a dead stare and he drove away,” Hodgson recounted as his friend left him at a gas station.

The attacks happened six months ago on Oct. 25 when Card opened fire at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, two locations where he held a delusional belief that people were talking about him behind his back. Two days later, the 40-year-old Reservist was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Hodgson told superiors on Sept. 15: “I believe he’s going to snap and do a mass shooting.”

But it wasn't just Hodgson who was worried about Card. Several other reservists witnessed his deterioration during training last summer. That led to a two-week hospitalization in July for Card, months after relatives warned police he had grown paranoid and that they were concerned about his access to guns.

The failure of authorities to remove Card’s weapons in the weeks before the shooting has become the subject of a monthslong investigation in the state, which also has passed new gun safety laws since the tragedy.

In an interim report released last month, an independent commission launched by Gov. Janet Mills concluded that the Sagadahoc County sheriff’s office had probable cause under Maine’s “yellow flag” law to take Card into custody and seize his guns. It also criticized police for not following up with Hodgson about his warning text. A final report is expected this summer.

On Thursday, Hodgson said he warned of a mass shooting because Card threatened multiple members of the unit with violence and that his threats and delusions were escalating. And he had access to guns.

“The way he was behaving was very threatening. It was escalating. The totality of the circumstances, the events leading to that moment, I was pretty convinced he was going to cause harm,” he said.

Another reservist, Daryl Reed, testified he witnessed Card’s mental and physical decline firsthand, seeing a “normal guy” who successfully traded stocks and loved hunting and the outdoors become increasingly paranoid and believing others were calling him a pedophile.

Card also acquired a thermal scope with a laser range finder that he said cost $10,000, and he demonstrated how it could be used to detect animals, including at night, Reed said.

He added fellow reservists started to become concerned Card could become a danger to colleagues. They were surprised, several testified, when Card was released from a psychiatric hospital after only two weeks.

In an exclusive series of interviews in January, Hodgson told The Associated Press he met Card in the Army Reserve in 2006 and that they became close friends after both divorced their spouses around the same time. They lived together for about a month in 2022, and when Card was hospitalized in New York in July, Hodgson drove him back to Maine.

Growing increasingly worried about his friend’s mental health, Hodgson warned authorities after Card started “flipping out” after a night of gambling, pounding the steering wheel and nearly crashing multiple times. After ignoring his pleas to pull over, Card punched him in the face, Hodgson said.

“It took me a lot to report somebody I love,” he said. “But when the hair starts standing up on the back of your neck, you have to listen.”

Some officials downplayed Hodgson’s warning, suggesting he might have been drunk because of the late hour of his text. Army Reserve Capt. Jeremy Reamer, the commanding officer of the reserve unit, described him as “not the most credible of our soldiers” and said his message should be taken “with a grain of salt.”

Hodgson said he struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol addiction but said he wasn’t drinking that night and was awake because he works nights and was waiting for his boss to call. “I grieve every day for the many lives that are lost for no reason and those that are still affected today,” he told the AP earlier this month.

Cara Cookson, director of victim services for the Maine Office of the Attorney General, also testified Thursday and described through tears the daunting task of responding to the enormity of the tragedy with a “patchwork of resources.”

On Thursday evening, the Maine Resiliency Center, which provides support to people affected by the killings, held a six-month commemoration event that drew several hundred people to a park in Lewiston.

The names of the 18 people who died were read aloud at the start of the ceremony, and there were 18 empty chairs, each with a candle and a blue heart, honoring the victims.

The governor also acknowledged the anniversary. “Our hearts are still healing, and the road to healing is long, but we will continue to walk it together,” Mills said in a statement.

Ed Yurek, a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, gives testimony, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Augusta, Maine, during a hearing of the independent commission investigating the law enforcement response to the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Sean Hodgson, a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, gives testimony, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Augusta, Maine, during a hearing of the independent commission investigating the law enforcement response to the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Sean Hodgson, a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, gives testimony, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Augusta, Maine, during a hearing of the independent commission investigating the law enforcement response to the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Sean Hodgson, a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, shows where he was punched by Robert Card while giving testimony, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Augusta, Maine, during a hearing of the independent commission investigating the law enforcement response to the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Daniel Wathen listens to testimony, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Augusta, Maine, during a hearing of the independent commission investigating the law enforcement response to the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Dr. Anthony Ng questions a witness, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Augusta, Maine, during a hearing of the independent commission investigating the law enforcement response to the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Toby Dilworth questions a witness, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Augusta, Maine, during a hearing of the independent commission investigating the law enforcement response to the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Dr. Debra Baeder questions a witness, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Augusta, Maine, during a hearing of the independent commission investigating the law enforcement response to the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Ellen Gorman questions a witness, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Augusta, Maine, during a hearing of the independent commission investigating the law enforcement response to the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Sean Hodgson, a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, wipes tears while recalling the moment he heard about the mass shooting, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Augusta, Maine, during a hearing of the independent commission investigating the law enforcement response to the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Daryl Reed, a member of the U.S. Army Reserves, is sworn in before giving testimony Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Augusta, Maine, during a hearing of the independent commission investigating the law enforcement response to the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

FILE - This photo released by the Lewiston, Maine, Police Department shows Robert Card, who was responsible for the mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, on Oct. 25, 2023. Sean Hodgson, a fellow U.S. Army reservist who sounded the clearest warning ahead of Maine’s deadliest mass shooting, is expected to answer questions Thursday, April 25, 2024, from the commission investigating the tragedy. (Lewiston Police Department via AP, File)

Sean Hodgson waits to be called to give testimony, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Augusta, Maine, during a hearing of the independent commission investigating the law enforcement response to the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. Hodgson had alerted an Army supervisor in September that his friend, Robert Card, was capable to doing a mass shooting. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes killed at least 12 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, officials said Wednesday, as the nearly 15-month war ground on into the new year with no end in sight.

One strike hit a home in the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza, the most isolated and heavily destroyed part of the territory, where Israel has been waging a major operation since early October. Gaza’s Health Ministry said seven people were killed, including a woman and four children, and at least a dozen other people were wounded.

Another strike overnight in the built-up Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed a woman and a child, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies. The military ordered people to evacuate an area near Bureij overnight, saying it would strike there in response to recent rocket fire by Palestinian militants.

A third strike early Wednesday in the southern city of Khan Younis killed three people, according to the nearby Nasser Hospital and the European Hospital, which received the bodies.

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting around 250. About 100 hostages are still held in Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel’s air and ground offensive has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It says women and children make up more than half the fatalities but does not say how many of those killed were militants.

The Israeli military says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in dense residential areas. The army says it has killed 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The war has caused widespread destruction and displaced some 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, many of them multiple times.

Hundreds of thousands are living in tents on the coast as winter brings frequent rainstorms and temperatures drop below 10 degrees Celsius (50 F) at night. At least six infants and another person have died of hypothermia, according to the Health Ministry.

American and Arab mediators have spent nearly a year trying to broker a ceasefire and hostage release, but those efforts have repeatedly stalled. Hamas has demanded a lasting truce, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu has vowed to keep fighting until “total victory” over the militants.

In a separate development, the Israeli military blamed “operational burnout” and a “weakening of discipline and safety” in the death of a 70-year-old archaeologist who was killed in southern Lebanon along with another soldier while visiting a combat zone in November.

According to Israeli media reports, Zeev Erlich was not on active duty when he was shot, but was wearing a military uniform and had a weapon. The army said he was a reservist with the rank of major and identified him as a “fallen soldier” when it announced his death.

Erlich was a well-known West Bank settler and researcher of Jewish history. Media reports at the time of his death said he entered Lebanon to explore an archaeological site. The family of the soldier who was killed with him has expressed anger over the circumstances of his death.

The military launched an investigation after they were killed in a Hezbollah ambush. A separate probe is looking into who allowed Erlich to enter.

The military said the entry of civilians who are not military contractors or journalists into combat zones is not widespread. Still, there have been multiple reports of Israeli civilians who support a permanent Israeli presence in Gaza or Lebanon entering those areas.

Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Tia Goldenberg in Jerusalem contributed.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

A man warms himself by a small fire inside a makeshift tent following overnight rainfall at the refugee tent camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinian children carry buckets of water after overnight rainfall at the refugee tent camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Manal Lubbad, a 49-year-old mother of eight and a displaced woman from Gaza City, tries to clean her flooded tent after heavy overnight rainfall at the refugee tent camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Nabil Lubbad tries to clean his family's flooded tent after heavy overnight rainfall at the refugee tent camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A young girl walks barefoot, carrying empty jerrycans to collect water, after overnight rainfall at the refugee tent camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip,, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

People walk along the beach next to a tent refugee camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Monday, Dec .30, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Israeli soldiers board an armored vehicle to enter the Gaza Strip at the Israel-Gaza border in southern Israel on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

An Israeli soldier adjusts his night vision goggles as his unit prepares to enter the Gaza Strip at the Israel-Gaza border in southern Israel on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

An Israeli soldier walks through a staging area as his unit prepares to enter the Gaza Strip at the Israel-Gaza border in southern Israel on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Israeli soldiers prepare to be deployed to the Gaza Strip near the Israeli-Gaza border in southern Israel, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Israeli soldiers light a candle on the seventh night of Hanukkah before being deployed to the Gaza Strip near the Israeli-Gaza border in southern Israel, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Brothers Belal, 5, and Mohammed Hamad, 7, collect water from their flooded family tent after overnight rainfall at the refugee tent camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A boy walks barefoot through the mud after overnight rainfall at the refugee tent camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Manal Lubbad, a 49-year-old mother of eight and a displaced woman from Gaza City, tries to clean her flooded tent after heavy overnight rainfall at the refugee tent camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)