$120 billion dollars.
From security professionals to sales managers, if you’re a leader of any kind within your organization, there’s a simple but critical question you need to ask yourself: if faced with threatening behavior, would my people know how to report and address it? If you’re unsure, you’re not alone—but you may want to find the answer sooner than later.
To drive the lesson home, it turns out that none other than the US Army has had trouble answering that question as well. Following an internal investigation into last year’s mass shooting and subsequent manhunt in Lewiston, Maine, the Army concluded that multiple officers were “derelict in their duties” as a result of failing to perform a follow-up on reservist and eventual shooter Robert Card’s mental health issues.
But they’re not the only ones who may have mishandled the situation. The Army claims that local law enforcement—though notified and aware of Card’s mental state and access to firearms—also fell short in their efforts to monitor the shooter and prevent eventual bloodshed.
Remarkably, each of these missteps took place despite an abundance of evidence. According to reports, Card was paranoid, claimed to hear voices, and assaulted a fellow reservist. In midsummer 2023, he was sent to a mental health facility for two weeks where he was observed for psychosis and exhibited threatening behaviors such as producing a “hit list” of potential victims. And yet, upon release, it appears his mental state was not documented or acted upon in such a way that may have mitigated or neutralized the risk Robert Card presented.

Planning, Protocols, and Prevention
While many signs were obvious, and acted on by some, there were too many failures along the way. In the end, these failures likely contributed to the deadly tragedy in Lewiston.
When one takes a closer look at the investigation, it appears this was very close to being a story of security success. The organizations in question executed a portion of their organizational protocols but failed to see things through with proper communication and redundancy.
Which brings us back around to the original question: is your organization prepared to handle threatening behavior the right way? Is your staff trained to identify risk indicators? Do you have a threat assessment team? Are they empowered to report risks and concerning behavior confidently through proper channels? And does your leadership have a communications and action plan in place with local authorities? If not, it’s time to make your preparedness a priority.
With expertise including Run-Hide-Fight, active shooter preparedness and response, situational awareness, de-escalation techniques, and more, The Power of Preparedness provides critical guidance that can save lives. Contact us to learn more.