UPDATED 6:39 A.M. 10/28/23
LEWISTON, Maine (Reuters) – A U.S. Army reservist accused of spraying a bowling alley and bar with gunfire in Lewiston, Maine, killing 18 people, was found dead after a 48-hour manhunt, restoring calm to communities unnerved by the bloodshed but leaving many questions unanswered.
The body of Robert R. Card, 40, was discovered on Friday night in a wooded area within the neighboring town of Lisbon Falls, near where police found his abandoned getaway vehicle shortly after the shooting spree on Wednesday night, police said.
A person of interest identified by police as Robert Card is seen in this handout image released October 25, 2023. Lewiston Maine Police Department via Facebook/Handout via REUTERS
Card appeared to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Maine Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck told reporters at a late-night briefing. He did not say how long the suspect was thought to have been dead or what led authorities to locate his body.
Sauschuck said police would have more to say at a news conference set for 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) on Saturday.
A total of 18 people perished and 13 others were wounded in Wednesday night’s carnage, which began when the gunman opened fire with a rifle inside the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, then launched another attack minutes later at Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant a few miles away.
Officials have made no mention of a possible motive for the gun violence, nor have they revealed the contents of a note by the gunman that police said they found after the rampage.
The shootings and prolonged manhunt terrorized the normally bustling but serene community of Lewiston, a former textile hub and the second-most populous city in Maine. It lies on the banks of the Androscoggin River, about 35 miles (56 km) north of the state’s largest city, Portland.
Many business owners in Lewiston and adjacent communities closed shop in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, while authorities shuttered schools and issued directives urging some 40,000 area residents to remain indoors and off the streets as a precaution.
The “shelter-in-place” orders had been lifted Friday evening, a few hours before news broke that Card’s body had been found, after police said they had determined that the greatest immediate threat to public safety had abated.
“Like many people, I am breathing a sigh of relief tonight, knowing that Robert Card is no longer a threat to anyone,” Maine Governor Janet Mills said as his death was announced. “Now is the time to heal.”
Card, an Army Reserve sergeant from the nearby town of Bowdoin, has been described by authorities as a trained firearms instructor who served as a petroleum supply specialist when on duty at the military reserve base in Saco, Maine.
Law enforcement officials also said he had a history of mental illness and was committed to a psychiatric facility for two weeks during the summer of 2023, after which he was released.
Within hours of Wednesday night’s bloodshed, police circulated surveillance camera photos from one of the crime scenes of a bearded man wearing a brown, hooded sweatshirt and jeans and carrying what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle.
The initial trail of clues led to Lisbon town, about 7 miles (11 km) to the southeast of Lewiston, where Maine State Police found a white SUV they believed Card had abandoned at a boat launch on the river. Lisbon Falls, where Card was found dead, is the next town along the river. CNN, citing a law enforcement source, said the suspect’s body was located near a recycling center where he had worked and had recently been fired from.
As part of their search for Card, police trawled the waters of the Androscoggin River with divers and sonar on Friday, and sent teams of officers door-to-door in neighborhood canvasses seeking additional clues and possible eyewitnesses.
Earlier in the day, authorities for the first time officially released the names and ages of the slain, including four deaf people who had been competing in a beanbag-tossing tournament at the bar and grill, a father-and-son pair of bowlers, a part-time bowling alley worker who tried to confront the shooter with a knife, and an elderly couple aged 76 and 73.
(Reporting by Gabriella Borter in Lewiston, Maine; Additional reporting by Julia Harte and Jonathan Allen in New York, Rich McKay in Atlanta and Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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LEWISTON, Maine (Reuters) -The man suspected of killing 18 people and wounding 13 in a shooting rampage in Lewiston, Maine, was found dead of a likely self-inflicted gunshot wound on Friday, ending a 48-hour manhunt that followed the most lethal episode of gun violence in the state’s history.
The body of Robert R. Card, 40, was discovered in the woods near the neighboring town of Lisbon Falls, near where police found his abandoned vehicle shortly after the shooting spree on Wednesday night.
“He is dead,” Maine Governor Janet Mills told a news conference, thanking the hundreds of officers from various agencies involved in the search.
“Like many people, I am breathing a sigh of relief tonight, knowing that Robert Card is no longer a threat to anyone … Now is the time to heal,” Mills said.
Card died of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, said Mike Sauschuck, Maine’s Department of Public Safety commissioner.
Officials said the U.S. Army reservist opened fire on his victims Wednesday night, first at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, and minutes later at Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant, which was hosting cornhole beanbag-throwing games.
Officials have not revealed any suspected motive.
The shootings and prolonged manhunt convulsed the normally bustling but serene community of Lewiston, a former textile hub and the second-most populous city in Maine.
Earlier on Friday, Maine State Police lifted an order that had kept tens of thousands of people in their homes while the manhunt continued.
The town lies on the banks of the Androscoggin River about 35 miles (56 km) north of the state’s largest city, Portland, and nearly as far southwest of Maine’s capital, Augusta.
Card, an Army Reserve sergeant from the nearby town of Bowdoin, has been described by authorities as a trained firearms instructor who served as a petroleum supply specialist when on duty at the military reserve base in Saco, Maine.
Law enforcement officials also said he had a history of mental illness and was committed to a psychiatric facility for two weeks during the summer of 2023, after which he was released.
Within hours of Wednesday night’s bloodshed, police circulated surveillance camera photos from one of the crime scenes of a bearded man wearing a brown, hooded sweatshirt and jeans and carrying what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle.
The initial trail of clues led to Lisbon town, about 7 miles (11 km) to the southeast of Lewiston, where Maine State Police found a white SUV they believed Card used to make his getaway and parked at a boat launch on the river. Public records showed he owned at least one vessel made by Sea-Doo, a company known for its jet ski-style personal watercraft.
Lisbon Falls, where the body was found, is the next town, still along the river.
As part of their search for Card, police trawled the waters of the Androscoggin River with divers and sonar on Friday, and sent teams of officers door-to-door in neighborhood canvasses seeking additional clues and possible eyewitnesses.
VICTIMS IDENTIFIED AND HONORED
Authorities also officially released the names and ages of the victims for the first time, revealing that a cross section of Lewiston people had been killed, including deaf people playing in the beanbag-throwing tournament, a father-and-son pair of bowlers, and a couple aged 76 and 73.
Four of those killed belonged to the deaf community, Sauschuck said, asking television cameras to include the American sign language interpreter at a press conference in their frames. Nine deaf people were playing in a weekly tournament at Schemengees, the sister of one of the victims told the Lewiston Sun Journal.
Among them was Joshua Seal, 36, the director of interpreting services for the Pine Tree Society, a non-profit organization aiding people with disabilities, the Sun Journal reported, citing Noel Sullivan, the group’s president. Seal provided vital interpreting services for people isolated during the coronavirus pandemic, Sullivan said.
Stephen Vozella, 45, was a postal worker and active member of New England Deaf Cornhole, the group said on its Facebook page, adding that a moment of silence would be held at an upcoming tournament.
Bryan MacFarlane, 41, an avid motorcyclist, was also part of the cornhole tournament at Schemengees, his sister Keri Brooks told the Sun Journal.
Bill Young, 44, and his 14-year-old son Aaron were shot and killed while bowling together, Bill’s brother Rob Young told Reuters.
Husband and wife Bob Violette, 76, and Lucille Violette, 73, were also bowling together in a couples league when they were killed, the Sun Journal reported, citing his daughter-in-law, Cassandra Violette.
Tricia Asselin, 53, was a part-time worker at the bowling alley who was trying to call 911 when shot. Joseph Walker, 57, was a manager at Schemengees who stayed on the scene to help even though he could have escaped through a door near his office, his father, Leroy Walker, told Reuters on Friday.
“We were told that he picked up a butcher knife from the bar area where he was a lot of the time standing and went to attack the shooter,” Leroy Walker said of his son, who he called Joey. The gunman then shot Joey, killing him instantly.
(Reporting by Gabriella Borter in Lewiston; Additional reporting by Julia Harte in New York and Rich McKay in Atlanta; Writing by Daniel Trotta and Steve Gorman; Editing by Mark Porter, Jonathan Oatis, David Gregorio, Leslie Adler, William Malard and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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UPDATED 8:53 P.M.
LEWISTON, Maine (Reuters) -The man suspected of killing 18 people and wounding 13 in a shooting rampage in Lewiston, Maine, was found dead on Friday, ending a 48-hour manhunt that followed the most lethal episode of gun violence in the state’s history, police said.
“All we can confirm is that he’s deceased and there’ll be a press release,” said a spokeswoman for the police department in the neighboring town of Lisbon.
ABC News, citing unnamed law enforcement sources, said the suspect, Robert R. Card, 40, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Card’s body was found in the woods near Lisbon by a recycling center from which he had recently been fired, CNN reported, citing a law enforcement source.
The U.S. Army reservist was believed to have opened fire in a bowling alley and then a bar minutes later on Wednesday night.
The shootings and prolonged manhunt convulsed the normally bustling but serene community of Lewiston, a former textile hub and the second-most populous city in Maine.
The town lies on the banks of the Androscoggin River about 35 miles (56 km) north of the state’s largest city, Portland, and nearly as far southwest of Maine’s capital, Augusta.
Card, an Army Reserve sergeant from the neighboring town of Bowdoin, has been described by authorities as a trained firearms instructor who served as a petroleum supply specialist when on duty at the military reserve base in Saco, Maine.
Law enforcement officials also said he has a history of mental illness and was committed to a psychiatric facility for two weeks during the summer of 2023, after which he was released.
Within hours of Wednesday night’s bloodshed, police circulated surveillance camera photos from one of the crime scenes of a bearded man wearing a brown, hooded sweatshirt and jeans and carrying what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle.
Meanwhile, hundreds of officers from an array of agencies ranging from local police and sheriff’s deputies to the FBI and U.S. Coast Guard joined the search. Canadian authorities, including its border officers, were on alert.
The initial trail of clues led to Lisbon, about 7 miles (11 km) to the southeast, where Maine State Police found a white SUV they believed Card used to make his getaway and parked at a boat launch on the river. Public records showed he owned at least one vessel made by Sea-Doo, a company known for its jet ski-style personal watercraft.
As part of their search for Card, police trawled the waters of the Androscoggin River with divers and sonar on Friday, and sent teams of officers door-to-door in neighborhood canvasses seeking additional clues and possible eyewitnesses.
According to the U.S. Army, Card enlisted in the military in 2002 but has never seen combat. A Maine law enforcement bulletin issued on Wednesday night said Card “had recently reported mental health issues,” including auditory hallucinations, and had made “threats to shoot up the National Guard Base in Saco.”
(Reporting by Gabriella Borter in Lewiston; Additional reporting by Julia Harte in New York and Rich McKay in Atlanta; Writing by Daniel Trotta and Steve Gorman; Editing by Mark Porter, Jonathan Oatis, David Gregorio, Leslie Adler, William Malard and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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LEWISTON, Maine (Reuters) -The man suspected of killing 18 people and wounding 13 in a shooting rampage in Lewiston, Maine, was found dead on Friday, ending a 48-hour manhunt that followed the most lethal episode of gun violence in the state’s history, according to multiple media reports.
ABC News, citing unnamed law enforcement sources, said the suspect, Robert R. Card, 40, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The U.S. Army reservist was believed to have opened fire in a bowling alley and then a bar minutes later on Wednesday night.
The shootings and prolonged manhunt convulsed the normally bustling but serene community of Lewiston, a former textile hub and the second-most populous city in Maine.
The town lies on the banks of the Adroscoggin River about 35 miles (56 km) north of the state’s largest city, Portland, and nearly as far southwest of Maine’s capital, Augusta.
Card, an Army Reserve sergeant from the neighboring town of Bowdoin, has been described by authorities as a trained firearms instructor who served as a petroleum supply specialist when on duty at the military reserve base in Saco, Maine.
Law enforcement officials also said he has a history of mental illness and was committed to a psychiatric facility for two weeks during the summer of 2023, after which he was released.
(Reporting by Gabriella Borter in Lewiston; Additional reporting by Nick Pfosi in Lewiston and Lisbon, Maine, and by Rich McKay; Writing by Daniel Trotta and Jonathan Allen; Editing by Mark Porter, Jonathan Oatis, David Gregorio, Leslie Adler, William Malard and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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