Maine shooting suspect, suspected of killing 18 people, found dead
A man suspected of killing 18 people was found dead Friday night, following a massive search that started Wednesday night after he opened fire on a bowling alley and then a restaurant in Lewiston, Maine.
Shooting suspect Robert Card was found dead, “apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, near the Androscoggin River in the Maine community of Lisbon Falls,” CNN reported.
“Now is a time to heal,” Maine Gov. Janet Mills said during a news conference, per CNN. “Tonight the city of Lewiston and the state of Maine begin to move forward on a long road to healing. We will heal together.”
What we know about the suspect in the Maine shooting
Card was wanted on eight counts of murder, but it will likely become 18 counts eventually because 10 of the victims remain unidentified, The Associated Press reported.
He had not been deployed or served in deployment since December 2002 and was serving as a petroleum supply specialist for the Army Reserve prior to the shooting, The Washington Post reported.
In July, Card was “taken by police for an evaluation after military officials became concerned that he was acting erratically in mid-July,” per AP.
Police warned he was likely armed and dangerous, and authorities released photos of Card and urged people in the area to stay inside with the doors locked and to be on the lookout for the suspect before he was found.
What we know about the Maine shooting
The shooter entered a bowling alley, as well as a restaurant Wednesday night, shooting multiple people in both places. Police are on an intensive manhunt for Card, who officials say is a person of interest, CNN reported.
Reports of a shooting at Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley, started coming in around 7 p.m. and were shortly followed by reports of a shooting at Schemengees Bar & Grill, which is a 12-minute drive away, according to The New York Times.
“It’s scary,” Zoey Levesque, a 10-year-old who was grazed by a bullet, told The Associated Press. “I had never thought I’d grow up and get a bullet in my leg. And it’s just like, why? Why do people do this?”
Shelter-in-place orders are still in place and have expanded to surrounding towns. Officials also warned the death toll is likely to rise.
The shooting is the deadliest of the year, ABC News reported.
What witnesses are saying about the Maine shooting
Lewiston is considered a blue-collar working-class community with a population of 60,000, according to NBC News.
One witness, who only gave his first name, Brandon, and experienced the shooting at the bowling alley, said he first heard a “loud pop.”
“Thought it was a balloon,” Brandon told ABC News. “I had my back turned to the door. As soon as I turned and saw that it was not a balloon, he was holding a weapon. I just bucked it down the lane and I slid basically into where the pins are and climbed up to the machine and was on top of the machines for about 10 minutes until the cops got there.”
Schemengees Bar and Grill posted on Facebook sharing a message of grief early Thursday morning.
“My heart is crushed,” the Facebook post said. “I am at a loss for words. In a split second your world gets turn upside down for no good reason. We loss great people in this community. How can we make any sense of this. Sending out prayers to everyone.”
