Police teams had already searched a recycling center in Maine twice before eventually finding the body of the man suspected of killing 18 people in Lewiston was found, authorities said Saturday.
Department of Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck said the teams that scoured the Maine Recycling Corp. property, including a tactical team, on Thursday night. He said another state police team returned the site Friday and found Robert CardB次元官网网址檚 body in a location that hadnB次元官网网址檛 been searched.
Card died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Sauschuck said.
At a press conference Saturday, Sauschuck also said CardB次元官网网址檚 family called investigators to provide his name to law enforcement soon after police released surveillance pictures of the shooter.
B次元官网网址淭his family has been incredibly cooperative with us,B次元官网网址� Sauschuck said. B次元官网网址淭ruth be told the first three people that called us B次元官网网址� were family members.B次元官网网址�
The 40-year-old Card of Bowdoin B次元官网网址� a firearms instructor who grew up in the area B次元官网网址� was suspected of also injuring 13 people during a shooting rampage at a bowling alley and bar on Wednesday night in Lewiston.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills at a Friday night news conference called for the healing process to begin.
B次元官网网址淟ike many people IB次元官网网址檓 breathing a sigh of relief tonight knowing that Robert Card is no longer a threat to anyone,B次元官网网址� Mills said.
Street life returned to Lewiston Saturday morning after a days-long lockdown in the city of 37,000. Joggers took advantage of the warm weather. People walked dogs through downtown and picked up coffees and visited other shops that had been closed since the shooting.
Whitney Pelletier hung a hand-drawn B次元官网网址淟ewiston StrongB次元官网网址� sign in the glass door of her downtown cafe, Forage, on Saturday morning.
Like other local businesses, Forage has been closed for days as police searched for Card.
B次元官网网址淟ast night when they found his body, I think the fear that I had been holding onto just living in downtown Lewiston was replaced with sadness,B次元官网网址� she said.
President Joe Biden in a statement called on Congress to take action on gun violence.
The deadliest shootings in Maine history stunned a state of 1.3 million people that has relatively little violent crime and had only 29 killings in all of 2022. In Lewiston, the 37,000 residents and those in surrounding communities were told to stay in their homes as hundreds of police officers, sheriffB次元官网网址檚 deputies, FBI agents and other law enforcement officials swarmed the area.
Card was a U.S. Army reservist. Leo Madden, who said he ran Maine Recycling Corp. for decades, told the AP that Card worked there for a couple of years and nothing about him stood out. Madden said he didnB次元官网网址檛 remember when Card was employed or whether he was fired or quit. The facility is located in Lisbon, not far from Lewiston.
Last summer, Card underwent a mental health evaluation after he began acting erratically during training, a U.S. official told the AP. A bulletin sent to police across the country shortly after the attack said Card had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks after B次元官网网址渉earing voices and threats to shoot upB次元官网网址� a military base.
A U.S. official said Card was training with the Army ReserveB次元官网网址檚 3rd Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiment in West Point, New York, when commanders became concerned about him. State police took Card to the Keller Army Community Hospital at West Point for evaluation, according to the official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the information and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
On Wednesday, Card attacked the bowling alley first, then went to the bar. Police were quickly sent to both locations but Card was able to escape. For the next two days authorities scoured the woods and hundreds of acres of CardB次元官网网址檚 family-owned property, and sent dive teams with sonar to the bottom of the Androscoggin River.
Law enforcement officials had said they hadnB次元官网网址檛 seen Card since his vehicle was left at a boat ramp Wednesday shortly after the shootings.
Hours before CardB次元官网网址檚 body was found, the names and pictures of the 15 men, two women and 14-year-old boy in the shootings were released at a news conference.
The Maine Department of Public Safety said it would open a Family Assistance Center in Lewiston starting Saturday morning to offer help and support to at the Lewiston Armory.
The Maine Educational Center for the Deaf said the shootings killed at least four members of their community.
Tammy Asselin was in the bowling alley with her 10-year-old daughter, Toni, and was injured when she fell in the scramble as the shooting began. She had said she hoped the shooter would be found alive because she and her daughter had many questions that they hoped he could answer.
On Saturday morning, she told the AP in a text message that her daughter was relieved by the news, and she was able to sleep peacefully.
B次元官网网址淚 am relieved as well, but also saddened at a lost opportunity to learn as much as we can,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淣ow we are on the journey to heal, and I am looking forward to working on this. It will be difficult but IB次元官网网址檓 optimistic we will be stronger in the long run.B次元官网网址�
Authorities have said publicly that the shooter used at least one rifle. They have not released any other details, including how the suspect obtained the firearm.
Authorities found a suicide note at a home associated with Card on Thursday that was addressed to his son, the law enforcement officials said. They said it didnB次元官网网址檛 provide any specific motive for the shooting.
The Cards have lived in Bowdoin for generations, neighbors said, and various members of the family own hundreds of acres in the area. The family owned the local sawmill and years ago donated the land for a local church.
Family members of Card told federal investigators that he had recently discussed hearing voices and became more focused on the bowling alley and bar, according to the law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. When he was hospitalized in July in New York, Card had told military officials he had been hearing voices and said he wanted to harm other soldiers, the officials said.
Authorities had banned hunting in several communities, in a state where it is immensely popular. However, following confirmation of CardB次元官网网址檚 death, a public safety alert was issued that announced: B次元官网网址淭he search is over for Mr. Card. The caution is over. Hunting may resume.B次元官网网址�
The Lewiston shootings were 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.
Jake Bleiberg, Patrick Whittle, Holly Ramer And David Sharp, The Associated Press
