Robert R. Card; Suspect In Maine Shootings Found Dead

Following a 48-hour manhunt, a US Army soldier who was suspected of spraying gunfire into a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston, Maine, murdering eighteen people, was discovered dead. While this brought some peace to the shaken community, many questions remained.

Robert R. Card, 40, was found dead in a forested area in the nearby town of Lisbon Falls today. The body was found not far from where police had found his abandoned getaway car just after the shooting spree on Wednesday night, according to the police.

At a press conference, Maine Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck informed reporters that Card appeared to have killed himself with a gunshot wound. He did not specify when officials believed the suspect to be dead or how they came to find his body.

At today’s news conference, scheduled for 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT), Sauschuck stated that law enforcement would have more to say.

The gunman opened fire with a rifle inside the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, killing eighteen people in all. Minutes later, he started another attack at the Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant, which was located a few kilometers away.

Neither the contents of the gunman’s note that police claim to have discovered after the shooting spree nor a potential motive for the shooting have been mentioned by authorities.

The second-most populated city in Maine, Lewiston, a former textile hub, was left in a state of panic following the shootings and protracted manhunt. Situated approximately 35 miles (56 km) north of Portland, the state’s largest city, it is situated on the banks of the Androscoggin River.

Following the shooting, a large number of business owners in Lewiston and the surrounding areas closed their doors, while the authorities closed the schools and gave orders to the approximately 40,000 residents of the area to stay home and off the streets out of caution.

A few hours before word spread that Card’s death had been discovered, the “shelter-in-place” orders had been rescinded by police, who claimed to have concluded that the biggest immediate threat to public safety had diminished.

As Robert Card passed away, Maine Governor Janet Mills remarked, “Like many others, 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.”

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 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.