LEWISTON, Maine – Authorities say a U.S. Army reservist fatally shot 18 people at a bowling alley and a restaurant in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday night. A massive search for 40-year-old Robert Card of Bowdoin was launched until he was found dead Friday.
The shooting in Maine's second-largest city is the 36th mass killing in the United States this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. The database includes every mass killing since 2006 from all weapons in which four or more people, excluding the offender, were killed within a 24-hour time frame.
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Here is what we know about the suspect and his death, where the shooting happened and the aftermath:
WHO IS THE SUSPECT AND WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?
Police identified the suspect in the deadly attack as 40-year-old Robert Card of Bowdoin, Maine. Gov. Janet Mills said at a Friday night news conference that Card had been found dead in nearby Lisbon Falls.
Police found Card’s body at a recycling facility where he recently worked.
Department of Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck said teams had scoured the Maine Recycling Corp. property Thursday night. He said another state police team returned Friday and found Card’s body alongside several guns in a trailer that hadn’t been searched.
Card died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Sauschuck said.
Jim Ferguson, the ATF special agent in charge in Boston, told The Associated Press that the weapons used in the shooting had been purchased legally. Many firearms were recovered although he declined to say their make, model or how many exactly.
“There were a lot more than three,” Ferguson said.
Card was an Army reservist who had been taken by police for an evaluation after military officials became concerned that he was acting erratically in mid-July, officials said.
The New York Army National Guard said the Army Reserve’s 3rd Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiment, became concerned about Card’s behavior while the unit was training at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.
Card’s relatives told federal investigators that he recently discussed hearing voices and became more focused on the bowling alley and bar in Lewiston, officials said.
At a Saturday press conference, Sauschuck said Card had a history of mental illness, but there was no evidence that he had ever been involuntarily committed. “Just because there appears to be a mental health nexus to this scenario, the vast majority of people with mental health diagnosis will never hurt anybody,” he said.
As for why Card chose his targets, Sauschuck said it was likely due to paranoia, that he thought people were talking about him.
He also said that a note found in Card’s home was meant for a loved one with the passcode to his phone and bank account numbers. Sauschuck said he wouldn’t describe it as an explicit suicide note but that its tone indicated that was the intent.
WHERE DID THE SHOOTING TAKE PLACE?
Lewiston Police said the shooting took place on Wednesday evening at Schemengees Bar and Grille and at Just-In-Time Recreation, a bowling alley about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) away. A number of parents and children were at Just-In-Time as part of a children’s bowling league.
The bowling alley is on the outskirts of downtown and offers traditional tenpin bowling and candlepin, a variant found in New England.
Lewiston is the second-largest city in Maine with a population of 37,000.
Maine has a longstanding culture of gun ownership tied to traditions of hunting and sport shooting. The state doesn’t require permits to carry guns.
WHAT IS THE AFTERMATH?
Sauschuck said that Card’s family called investigators to provide his name to law enforcement soon after police released surveillance pictures of the shooter.
“This family has been incredibly cooperative with us,” Sauschuck said. “Truth be told the first three people that called us ... were family members.”
Sauschuck also named all 18 victims at a news conference Friday and said their families had been notified. Photos of the victims were posted on a board as he read the names. A moment of silence followed.
According to Maine State Police, seven people died Wednesday night at Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley. Six were male and one was female. Eight more people, all male, died at Schemengees Bar and Grille. Three others died after being taken to hospitals.
The deceased ranged in age from 14 to 76. A teen bowler, a shipbuilder and a sign language interpreter were among the dead.
The death toll was staggering for a state that had 29 homicides in all of 2022. The attack was the worst mass killing in state history.
Police and other authorities had issued a shelter-in-place order for residents during the massive search for Card on land and water. The Canada Border Services Agency issued an “armed and dangerous” alert to its officers stationed along the Canada-U.S. border, warning them to be on the lookout for Card.
Maine’s largest city, Portland, closed public buildings. Some Portland restaurants and bars closed their doors, bringing an unusual quiet to the typically bustling downtown.
President Joe Biden has ordered all U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff until sunset on Monday.
In a statement following the announcement of Card's death, Biden said the aftermath of the shooting “has been a tragic two days – not just for Lewiston, Maine, but for our entire country.”
“Tonight we’re grateful that Lewiston and surrounding communities are safe after spending excruciating days hiding in their homes," said Biden. He praised law enforcement officers who “worked around the clock to find this suspect and prevent the loss of more innocent life — all while risking their own. They are the best of us."