Video was taken night of Lewiston shootings, but it doesn't show Card's arrest | Fact check

Gabrielle Settles, USA TODAY
·2 min read
2

The claim: Video shows Robert Card's arrest

An Oct. 26 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows video of law enforcement officers shouting at someone in the middle of a street to get down on the ground, then arresting him.

"On going development in Lewiston Maine as reported that Robert Card responsible for a mass shooting that leaves 22 dead, has been arrested! (sic)" the post reads.

The video was shared widely across various social media platforms, often represented as showing the arrest of Robert Card, the suspected Lewiston shooter.

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Our rating: False

The video was taken in Lewiston on the night of the shootings, but it does not show Card being apprehended. A manhunt was still underway for him as of Oct. 27.

Video posted night of the shooting amid search for Card

On Oct. 25, a shooter opened fire inside the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley and nearby Schemengees Bar and Grille, killing 18 people and injuring 13 more.

The shooting suspect was identified as Card, a 40-year-old Army reservist.

The Facebook video and other versions were first shared on the same night of the shootings. But it couldn’t have been Card, because law enforcement at that point was still searching for him. The search stretched into Oct. 27, with one of the latest updates showing that law enforcement was searching the Androscoggin River after Card’s vehicle was located nearby.

The Maine State Police and Lewiston Police Department did not respond to requests for comment.

Fact check: Man with same name as Maine shooting suspect misidentified in viral post

Google Maps shows the place seen in the arrest video is Pine Street in Lewiston, in front of the public library. Fact-checking newsroom VERIFY found a video that showed a different angle of the incident, showing that police detained the person but continued their search for the shooter.

The Facebook and Instagram users who shared the claim did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Oct. 25 video did not show Robert Card being arrested | Fact check