Police Were Told Maine Gunman Had Threatened to Carry Out Shooting Spree

Six weeks before an Army reservist fatally shot 18 people in Lewiston, Maine, the police received alarming warnings that the reservist had grown increasingly paranoid, had punched a friend and had said he was going to carry out a shooting spree. But no law enforcement officials ever made contact with him, according to records released on Monday.

The warnings about the reservist, Robert R. Card II, 40, were far more explicit than Maine officials have publicly acknowledged in the wake of Wednesday’s shooting, America’s deadliest mass shooting this year. They came from Mr. Card’s family members and his Army Reserve unit in Saco, Maine, and were investigated by the Sheriff’s Office in Sagadahoc County, where he lived.

In September, the Army Reserve contacted the Sheriff’s Office, and a sergeant was assigned to check on Mr. Card after he had accused several friends, in what struck them as a paranoid delusion, of calling him a pedophile and had punched one of them.

The Reserve also told the Sheriff’s Office that Mr. Card had been treated at a psychiatric hospital for two weeks in July before being released. The Reserve said that more recently, Mr. Card had told a friend that he had guns and was “going to shoot up the drill center at Saco and other places,” according to a report written by a sheriff’s sergeant.

The sheriff’s sergeant, Aaron Skolfield, went to Mr. Card’s home on Sept. 16 and tried to make contact with him, but no one came to the door despite the sergeant hearing someone he thought was Mr. Card moving around inside.

Sergeant Skolfield said that soon after, he spoke with a unit commander in the Reserve who said that he thought it was best for Mr. Card to “have time to himself for a bit.”

Sergeant Skolfield also said in the report that he had contacted Mr. Card’s brother, Ryan Card, who said that he and his father would try to take his brother’s guns away.

Sheriff Joel Merry of Sagadahoc County said in a statement that he believed his department had acted appropriately, but he added that his office would evaluate its procedures for wellness checks. Sergeant Skolfield declined to comment over the weekend when a reporter contacted him by phone.

Earlier on Monday, Gov. Janet Mills of Maine declined to answer questions about law enforcement’s prior interactions with Mr. Card. The state’s public safety commissioner suggested on Saturday that law enforcement’s only interaction with Mr. Card was an investigation into a possible drunken driving incident in 2007.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.