Robert Card, suspected of opening fire in a bowling alley and a bar in Maine and killing 18 people, was found dead on Friday (local time) from a self-inflicted gunshot. The latest development put an end to a high-stakes search after the shooting shook the state and the United States.
Card was a firearms instructor at a US Army Reserve training facility. His body was found in Maine's Lisbon Falls, according to State Governor Janet Mills. "Like many people I’m breathing a sigh of relief tonight knowing that Robert Card is no longer a threat to anyone," she said.
According to local media, the shooting incident took place at three locations namely Schemengees Bar and Grille Restaurant, a Walmart store and Sparetime Recreation. Card, the suspect, was previously committed to a mental health facility for two weeks earlier this year, according to a document.
Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck said that Card was found at 7:45 pm (US time). According to another official, the body was at a recycling center from which Card had been fired. Meanwhile, Mills said she had called President Joe Biden to alert him that Card was dead.
“Tonight we’re grateful that Lewiston and surrounding communities are safe after spending excruciating days hiding in their homes,” Biden said in a statement, further calling on the US Congress to take action on gun violence in the country.
One of the deadliest shootings in Maine
It is arguably one of the deadliest shootings in the history of Maine and shook the state of 1.3 million people which has relatively little violent crime and had only 29 killings in all of 2022.
An intensive two-day search efforts ensued after the shooting after the 37,000 residents and those in surrounding communities in Lewiston were told to stay in their homes as hundreds of police officers, sheriff’s deputies, FBI agents and other law enforcement officials swarmed the area.
According to a US official, Card underwent a mental health evaluation after he began acting erratically during training. The document to the police revealed that he had apparently heard "voices and threats to shoot up" a military base.
Another official informed that the 40-year-old suspect was training with the Army Reserve’s 3rd Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiment in West Point, New York when commanders became concerned about him. State police took Card to the Keller Army Community Hospital at West Point for evaluation.
The shooting in Maine
Card attacked the bowling alley on Wednesday first, then proceeded to go to the bar. Police were quickly sent to both locations but Card managed to escape. For the next two days authorities scoured the woods and hundreds of acres of Card’s family-owned property and sent dive teams with sonar to the bottom of the Androscoggin River.
The victims included a 76-year-old retiree, two women and a 14-year-old boy. Auburn City Councilor Leroy Walker told news outlets that his son, Joe, a manager at the bar and grill, died going after the shooter with a butcher knife. A total of 18 people were killed.
A gun was found in the suspect's car that was discovered at a boat ramp, and federal agents were testing it to determine if it was used in the shooting, according to two law enforcement officials.
Family members of Card told federal investigators that he had recently discussed hearing voices and became more focused on the bowling alley and bar, according to the law enforcement officials.
(with AP inputs)
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