LEWISTON — The body of the man accused of killing 18 people in Lewiston on Wednesday was found Friday night near a recycling area in Lisbon.
Gov. Janet Mills confirmed that Robert Card was found dead, delivering the news at a hasty press conference at Lewiston City Hall just after 10 p.m. Friday.
“Like many people, I’m breathing a sigh of relief tonight knowing Card is no longer a threat to anyone,” Mills said. “I know there are some people, many people that share that sentiment, but I know that his death may not bring solace to many.”
Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck said Card’s body was found around 7:45 p.m. Friday. He confirmed Card died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
He refused to answer questions about exactly where Card’s body was found but said it was near the Androscoggin River in Lisbon Falls, which is part of the town of Lisbon.
The governor said now is a time for the city of Lewiston and all of Maine to start to heal.
“Lewiston is a special place, this isn’t us. Lewiston is a great place. It’s a close-knit community of people. People with a long history of hard work, of persistence, of faith, of opening its big heart to people everywhere,” Mills said with a hoarse voice. “Tonight the people of Lewiston and the state of Maine begin to move forward on what will be a long and difficult road to healing. But we will heal together.”
Police had been searching for the 40-year-old Bowdoin man since Wednesday night when he allegedly gunned down more than 30 people, killing 18 and wounding 13 more at Just-In-Time Recreation and Schemengees Bar & Grille.
A police officer blocks an entrance to Capital Avenue in Lisbon on Friday night. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald
Some witnesses reported that Card was found dead wearing the same clothes he had on when he went on the shooting rampage – a brown hooded sweatshirt and dark pants.
Those who live in the area said Card’s body was found near a recycling center where he used to work. The area is roughly a mile from the boat launch in Lisbon where Card’s Subaru was found Wednesday night and where police spent most of Friday searching.
Several people in Lisbon had reported a sudden surge in police activity in town around 8 p.m. Friday, as local, state and federal police continued the three-day manhunt. At about 9 p.m., Maine State Police called the news conference at Lewiston City Hall to announce that Card’s body had been found.
“So happy this nightmare is over,” said John Riordan, who lives near the scene, “and hopefully the families can get some closure. It will be nice to get back to some state of normalcy.”
Photos of the 18 people that lost their lives during Wednesday’s mass shootings in Lewiston were displayed during Friday evening’s press conference at Lewiston City Hall. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
THE VICTIMS
Sauschuck confirmed the identities of the 18 victims earlier Friday.
Those who died are:
• Tricia Asselin, 53
• William Frank Brackett, 48
• Peyton Brewer-Ross, 40
• Michael R. Deslauriers II, 51
• Thomas Ryan Conrad, 34
• Maxx A. Hathaway, 35
• Bryan MacFarlane, 41
• Keith Macneir, 64
• Ronald G. Morin, 55
• Joshua A. Seal, 36
• Arthur Fred Strout, 42
• Robert E. Violette, 76
• Lucille M. Violette, 73
• Stephen Vozzella, 45
• Jason Adam Walker, 51
• Joseph Lawrence Walker, 57
• Aaron Young, 14
• William A. Young, 44
Sen. Susan Collins said in a statement Friday night that President Biden told her Card had been found.
“Tonight, Mainers can breathe a collective sigh of relief thanks to the brave first responders who worked night and day to find this killer,” Collins said. “To the families who lost loved ones and to those injured by this attack, I know that no words can diminish the shock, pain and justifiable anger you feel. It is my hope that you will find solace and strength in knowing that you are in the hearts of people throughout Maine and across the nation.”
Sen. Angus King, released a statement expressing his relief over the end of the manhunt for Card.
“Tonight, I join my neighbors and friends in a communal sense of relief. We are grateful to law enforcement and first responders, for fifty hours of nonstop dedication and determination that brought us this relief. It will take a long, long time to process this pain, but Maine people have grit, resolve and heart and we will come together through this difficult grieving period and hope for brighter, calmer days.”
The news conference earlier Friday evening centered on the victims – a group that included devoted fathers, cornhole fanatics and advocates for the Deaf community – whose identities police confirmed for the first time on Friday.
Sauschuck presented each of their smiling photographs to the public Friday, throwing the deep human toll of the shootings into focus.
The photos came from a happier time. Michael Deslauriers II posed on his boat with a fresh catch. Thomas Ryan Conrad’s selfie captured the spectacular blue sky above him and the beach below. Robert E. Violette stood behind his wife, Lucille, and tucked his arm around her in a familiar embrace.
Mills said in a statement earlier Friday night that she was remembering her friend, Josh Seal, who was among the 18 victims and “who Maine people fondly remember from his service as an (American Sign Language) interpreter during our COVID-19 briefings.”
Sauschuck accepted responsibility for a “miscommunication” Friday morning when he told reporters that only eight victims had been identified. A spokesperson for Maine’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner said that report was incorrect and that all 18 victims had been identified as of Thursday afternoon.
As of Friday evening, three patients remained in critical condition at Central Maine Medical Center, according to hospital spokesperson Jim Cyr. One patient was in stable condition, and two injured people were being discharged from the hospital. Cyr said in an email that another person was discharged Thursday and one person was transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital.
The public affairs office at Mass General did not respond to a request for a patient status update. CMMC previously said that another patient had been transferred to Maine Medical Center in Portland and one person was taken directly from the scene to St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston.
According to Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss, a new family assistance center at the Lewiston Armory at 65 Central Ave. will give victims and support staff a place to gather and find resources, including mental health services, financial aid and victim advocacy services. The site is also open to those who witnessed the shootings but were not injured. The wider community can seek mental health assistance at the Ramada Inn in Lewiston, Moss said.
Lewiston City Administrator Heather Hunter and her colleagues on Friday announced several efforts to help victims of the Wednesday night shooting while also making arrangements for matters such as voting, trash pickup and the survival of small businesses.
Lewiston City Councilor Linda Scott is pushing an effort for people to put candles in their windows or to light up porch lights as show of solidarity.
“We’re going to light up our city this weekend,” Scott said.
FRIDAY’S SEARCH
About 40 police officers and members of the warden service spent Friday sweeping the shoreline near a Lisbon boat landing where police say they discovered Card’s abandoned Subaru, said Mark Latti, communications director for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Two boats equipped with sonar technology searched the Androscoggin River, while a helicopter crew was using thermal imaging to scan the water below.
Police had been working with Brookfield, the owners of two nearby dams, to slow the current of the river for personnel conducting the search, Sauschuck said.
Scheduled prohibitions on hunting in several areas near Lewiston were lifted Firday night. Sauschuck had already lifted all shelter-in-place orders before the body was found.
He said his team was cognizant of the damage that long-term lockdowns can have on mental health, kids and the local economy.
“We know that that can have a negative impact on people,” he said. “You have to look at that, and you have to do the math.”
Investigators found a note at a home associated with Card on Thursday that was addressed to his son, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press. The officials described it as a suicide note but said it didn’t provide any specific motive for the shooting.
Sauschuck continued to refuse to answer questions about the note earlier Friday evening. He confirmed one was found but would not comment on its contents.
Card’s cellphone had also been recovered in the home, making a search more complicated because authorities routinely use phones to track suspects, the official who spoke with the AP said.
Members of the Maine State Police Underwater Recovery Team use a ROV to search the Sabattus River on Friday afternoon at Miller Park in Lisbon. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
A gun was found in the white Subaru that Card abandoned, the officials said. And federal agents were testing the gun to determine if it was used in the shooting and conducting a trace to determine when and where the gun was obtained, the officials said.
Federal agents conducted several searches of properties associated with Card on Thursday, collecting a number of items, including electronics. Investigators also are analyzing Card’s financial information and reviewing his social media posts, writings and his mental health history, the officials said.
The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
At earlier news conferences on Friday, Sauschuck promised to maintain strong lines of communication with the public, including by holding daily briefings each morning. But despite the effort at improved transparency, he continued to balk at most questions on specific details of the investigation and the search.
During a brief question-and-answer period Friday morning, Sauschuck said he was confident that police would bring Card into custody “one way or another.”
“Every minute this goes on we’re more and more concerned,” he said. That’s why we’re working 24/7.”
Ray Routhier, Grace Benninghoff, Penelope Overton, Mark LaFlamme and Brianna Soukup contributed to this report.
RESOURCES IN MAINE
SUPPORT
• Nationwide confidential help line: 988
• Maine crisis hotline: 1-888-568-1112
• Maine’s warm-line for non-crisis calls: 1-866-771-9276
• Other state resources in Maine: 211
HELP FOR CHILDREN
• Guidance about how to talk to children about the shooting
• More from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network
• Support for educators: 207-221-8196 or text 898-211 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
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