Maine mass shooter Robert Card found dead with gunshot wound after huge manhunt
Gunman Robert Card who killed 18 people and injured dozens more has been found dead, police say. They located his body late Friday night, ending the days-long manhunt that rocked a small Maine city.
Robert Card was found dead in Lisbon, Maine, just miles from the site where he shot up a bowling alley and bar and grill in nearby Lewistown, Maine, in what became known as the deadliest mass shooting event of 2023.
Card's body was found near a recycling centre where he used to work before reportedly being fired. He was wearing the same clothes he was wearing when he slaughtered 18 people on Wednesday. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and his body was reportedly found inside a dumpster.
He was discovered seemingly not far from where his car was abandoned shortly after the bloody mass shooting on Wednesday. It was unclear how long he had been dead.
At a press conference, Lewiston police chief David St. Pierre said he was informed of the death earlier tonight.
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Officials refused to rule out that Card had an accomplice but hinted that it was unlikely.
READ MORE: Four theories on how suspect Robert Card has evaded capture in manhunt
The police and other authorities searched far and wide for Robert Card, with their search ending late Friday — two days after the shooting (AFP via Getty Images)Residents were told to hide and lock their doors after Card, armed with a long rifle, opened fire at two locations across the Maine city of Lewiston on Wednesday evening. He entered Schemengees Bar & Grille shortly after Sparetime Recreation, a nearby bowling alley, around 7pm local time.
Police scoured the woods and hundreds of acres of family-owned property, sent dive teams with sonar to the bottom of a river and scrutinised a possible suicide note on Friday in their intensive search for Card.
Authorities lifted their shelter in place order which had been in place for people living in the area on Friday evening, nearly 48 hours after the shootings.
Gov. Janet Mills had warned people not to approach Card under any circumstances. She asked people to call 911 if they saw anything suspicious as multiple towns surrounding Lewiston were placed into lockdown.
The end of the search came after FBI agents and other heavily armed officers gathered at the home of his brother, Ryan, and sister-in-law Katie on Thursday in nearby Bowdoin, where they could be seen with military-style vehicles, a helicopter and large guns. They could be heard shouting that they knew he was in there, demanding that he come out with his hands up, but no one was found.
He had multiple warrants out for his arrest relating to the slaughters, which were caught on security cameras at the facilities. At least 14 were injured in the onslaught as well, and some remain in the hospital with critical wounds.
Card had been described as a firearms instructor believed to be in the US Army Reserve and assigned to a training facility in Saco, Maine. A police bulletin document circulated to law enforcement officials said Card had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks in the summer of 2023. It did not provide details about his treatment or condition but said Card had reported “hearing voices and threats to shoot up” the military base.
The Army later confirmed that he did not, in fact, serve as an instructor and said he never received firearm training, either.
Mum who moved to US for better life died protecting kids as gunman killed five
Card had left a note at his home for his son that alleged that he expected to be dead by the time it was found and read (@CinemaShogun)Card is accused of opening fire at two popular nighttime spots - bowling alley Sparetime Recreation and Schemengees bar.
Card, 40, of Bowdoin, Maine, was a U.S. Army reservist who underwent a mental health evaluation in mid-July after he began acting erratically during training, a U.S. official told The Associated Press.
The police searched Card's last-known address on Thursday but turned up empty-handed (Anadolu via Getty Images)He had been hunted by cops since the Wednesday night shootings, and murder warrants were issued against him.
A U.S. official said Card was training with the Army Reserve's 3rd Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiment in West Point, New York, when commanders became concerned about him.
Police released a picture of a 2013 white Subaru Outback, believed to be being used by the suspect. That vehicle was later found, and the authorities searched it, which yielded a gun. It remains unclear whether that weapon is connected to the shooting or not, and police are still analysing it.
The residents of Maine can now live in peace after the suspect was found dead (AP)The 16 males and two females killed Wednesday night ranged in age from 14 to 76, the medical examiner said Friday.
Maine State Police said seven people died at Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, and eight more died at Schemengees Bar and Grille. Three others died after being taken to hospitals.
Before Card was found, divers were carrying out searches of the Androscoggin River near a boat launch in Lisbon where suspect Robert Card's car was discovered. He said divers had been in the water as part of the investigation.
"We're not going to finish that search this evening," he said Friday evening before Card's body was recovered elsewhere. "But tomorrow we'll have additional diving resources available to us from out-of-state in addition to in-state teams."
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