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The mass shooter who killed 18 people and injured 13 others in Lewiston, Maine, this week was found dead yesterday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. But even as authorities hunted for the suspect, Robert Card, a local firearms instructor with a history of severe mental illness, some began to question whether stricter gun laws could have prevented the carnage.

Maine allows citizens to carry concealed weapons in public without a permit, and almost half of its adult residents live in a gun-owning household, according to the Rand Corporation, but…

• Per the so-called “yellow flag” law Maine passed in 2019, a judge can temporarily take someone’s guns away if police deem that person a threat, though only after they are taken into protective custody by police and evaluated by a medical professional.

• In 2019, the majority of Maine’s lawmakers opposed a stricter “red flag” law, like the ones enacted in 21 states and Washington, DC, which don’t require a medical evaluation before firearms can be seized.

Critics argue the Lewiston tragedy shows that the yellow flag law isn’t enough since a forced detention requirement makes it difficult to use. They also cite the efficacy of red flag measures in other states. However, others question why Card didn’t lose his weapons under existing rules, given that the Army reservist recently spent two weeks in a psychiatric facility after threatening colleagues.

Meanwhile…Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat from Maine, apologized to his constituents in Lewiston for previously opposing a nationwide ban on assault weapons like the one used in the shooting.