LEWISTON, Maine — The man sought in connection with a mass shooting Wednesday in the city of Lewiston was found dead Friday night.
Robert Card, 40, of Bowdoin, is believed to have shot and killed 18 people and injured 14 Wednesday night at Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, formerly Sparetime Recreation, and Schemengees Bar and Grille Restaurant. The bowling alley and the restaurant are about four miles apart.
Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck held a press conference Saturday morning to provide updates on the case, including details that law enforcement had not previously been able to share with the public.
BODY DISCOVERY
Sauschuck said Card's body was found at the Maine Recycling Corporation property at 61 Capital Avenue in Lisbon at 7:45 p.m. Friday. That's nearly 49 hours after he fired the first shots at the bowling alley.
Card died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Sauschuck said, adding an autopsy would determine how long the suspect had been dead before he was found. Sauschuck said Card appeared to be wearing the same sweatshirt as when he was captured on camera at the bowling alley.
The recycling center had been cleared twice by police previously, Sauschuck said, but the owner notified police Friday of an overflow parking lot across the street with 50-60 trailers in it that had not yet been searched. Some of those trailers were locked, others were unlocked. The owner encouraged an expanded search of that parking lot, and Card was ultimately found dead by the Maine State Police Tactical Team in one of the trailers.
A trail called the Paper Mill Trail runs from the Miller Park boat launch where the suspect's vehicle was found to the recycling center's overflow parking lot. At this time, Sauschuck said officials believe Card traveled the trail on foot from the boat launch to the parking lot.
Processing of the parking lot scene was expected to last through the day Saturday, according to Sauschuck. He said processing of the bar and bowling alley scenes was expected to last through the rest of the weekend, adding there is a lot of material officials need to work through. Sauschuck said Maine State Police would clear these scenes when they deem it appropriate to do so, and then a Massachusetts-owned trauma services cleanup company would clean the spaces so that the business owners don’t have to worry about it.
SUSPECT'S NOTE
Sauschuck said officials during the investigation located a paper-style note. The public safety commissioner did not read the note verbatim but said it was a note to a loved one outlining phone passcodes and bank account numbers they may need.
Sauschuck said it was not an explicit suicide note, but the tone and tenor of the note implied that the suspect knew he wouldn’t survive.
Officials said they are pursuing a search warrant for access to the suspect’s phone, which is not uncommon in suicide situations.
FIREARMS FOUND
Sauschuck said three firearms were found during the search and discovery of Card's body: two on him and one in his vehicle, which was abandoned at a boat launch in Lisbon. Sauschuck said the gun found in the car was a rifle, but he did not specify the make or model.
A representative from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives spoke during Saturday's press conference and said all three of those firearms were legally purchased by the suspect, at least one of them just days before the shootings.
SUSPECT'S MENTAL HEALTH
"I think clearly there's a mental health component to this," Sauschuck said. "We still need to do some research around trying to get access to certain records and things of that nature."
Sauschuck said the suspect possibly experienced paranoia. Sauschuck also said officials received information indicating the suspect was hearing voices in his own head and felt like people were talking about him.
The public safety commissioner said he hadn't seen any indication that the suspect was ever forcibly committed for mental health treatment. He also said officials would be investigating whether Card had ever voluntarily committed himself for a mental health treatment facility, adding he had not seen any documentation of that happening.
Sauschuck said Maine's yellow-flag law has been used 82 times since it went into effect in 2020 and called the law "effective."
SUSPECT'S FAMILY
Sauschuck commended Card's family for being cooperative throughout the search, saying the first three people who called law enforcement to positively identify the suspect were family members.
"It would have been detrimental if they didn't come forward immediately to let us know who this individual was," Sauschuck said.
SUPPORT RESOURCES AVAILABLE
The Department of Public Safety will open a Family Assistance Center in Lewiston starting Saturday morning to offer help and support to victims of Wednesday's mass shooting.
The center will open at the Lewiston Amory located at 65 Central Ave.
"This will be one central space for victims and their support persons to gather so they don't have to make multiple stops as they seek assistance. This space is also open for those individuals who were present at the shooting sites but not physically injured," a Department of Public Safety news release stated.
Media will not be allowed inside the FAC to protect the privacy of victims, according to the release.
The Maine State Police, the Maine Attorney General's Office, the Red Cross, and the FBI Victim Services Division will launch the assistance center. The center will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and will remain open for an "adequate period of time" to ensure all victims have a chance to access this resource, according to the release.
Resources available to victims and their support persons will include mental health services, financial aid, spiritual care, and access to victim advocacy and support services.
The release stated that there will be a "significant police presence" at the center.
In a press conference Saturday morning, it was announced that a second support location would be available to the greater community at the Ramada Inn in Lewiston.
For a full list of resources, click here.
CMMC PATIENT UPDATES
Central Maine Healthcare shared updates in a news release shared around 3 p.m. Saturday about the remaining shooting victims who are being treated there.
A spokesperson for the hospital said four people remain at CMMC, and three of the four are in critical condition. The hospital listed the fourth patient as "stable," but the exact condition was not clear.
One of the victims was brought to Massachusetts General Hospital, and the rest were discharged, the hospital said.
"We still have a long road ahead of us," Chief Medical Officer John Alexander said in the release. "Our surgeons and health professionals addressed medical trauma beginning Wednesday evening, but the emotional trauma will be with us for the foreseeable future. Central Maine Medical Center mobilized a network of professionals within CMMC to help team members and families cope with the stress of the experience and the profound sense of loss we are all feeling.”
“Bravery is one word that keeps surfacing at Central Maine Medical Center since this ordeal began,” Tim Counihan, chief of surgical services, said. “As the stories unfold, it is the heroism of our patients that will resonate with us.”
VIGILS
Three vigils have been planned so far:
- Lisbon: 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, at Worumbo at 1 Canal St., Lisbon
- Lewiston: 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29, at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul at 122 Ash St. (previous location was scheduled for the Franco Center); ASL interpreter will be present
- Bangor: 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29, front steps of City Hall, 73 Harlow St.; ASL interpreter will be present