A man suspected of fatally shooting 18 people and wounding 13 in Maine has been found dead, authorities said Friday, October 27. Robert Card, who was wanted in connection with the shootings at Schemengees Bar and Grille and at Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley in Lewiston, is believed to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, a law enforcement official tells The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity. A 10 pm news conference was scheduled by police.
Card, 40, of Bowdoin, Maine, was a US Army reservist who underwent a mental health evaluation in mid-July after he began acting erratically during training, a US official told The Associated Press. Card had been sought since the Wednesday night shootings, and murder warrants were issued against him. 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 this past summer after "hearing voices and threats to shoot up: a military base.
A US 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. 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 Associated Press on condition of anonymity
Authorities had scoured the woods and hundreds of acres of family-owned property, sent dive teams with sonar to the bottom of a river and scrutinized a possible suicide note Friday in the second day of their intensive search for Card. Authorities lifted their shelter-in-place order Friday evening, nearly 48 hours after the shootings.
The names and pictures of the 16 males and 2 females who died were released as State Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck asked for a moment of silence at a news conference. Their ages ranged from 14 to 76.