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On Wednesday night time town of Lewiston, Maine, was shaken after a gunman opened fireplace in a bowling alley and a bar. Police scrambled to search out the shooter, urging residents and native companies to lock down instantly.
Maine legislation enforcement officers later introduced that Robert Card, a 40-year-old Sgt 1st class within the Military Reserve, was wished as a suspect within the shootings that left 18 useless and 13 others injured.
On Friday night it was revealed that his physique had been present in woodlands near a recycling centre the place he used to work within the city of Lisbon.
Right here’s what we all know to this point in regards to the shooter:
Who was the gunman?
Police recognized 40-year-old Robert Card because the “particular person of curiosity” and later suspect in a lethal capturing.
Photographs of the gunman, made public for identification, confirmed him sporting brown garments and brandishing a high-powered assault-style rifle – legislation enforcement described the weapon as an AR-15-style rifle with a potential telescopic sight.
Officers at Saturday morning’s press convention stated the primary three calls that “positively recognized” the gunman had been from his relations; additionally they stated “robust psychological well being cloud over what occurred,” and clarified that police haven’t discovered information indicating that he was “forcibly dedicated for therapy.”
Card served as a firearms teacher within the US Military Reserve.
He joined the US Military in 2022 and have become a Sgt 1st class and Petroleum Provide Specialist. He had no fight deployments throughout his enlistment.
However just lately, the gunman had disclosed psychological well being points, citing experiences of auditory hallucinations and threats to assault the Nationwide Guard Base in Saco, in accordance with a Maine legislation enforcement bulletin seen by the Related Press.
Over the summer season, he was admitted to a psychological well being facility for 2 weeks.
“I’ve recognized Rob my complete life,” Katie Card instructed The Each day Beast. “He’s quiet however essentially the most loving, hardworking, and sort person who I do know. However prior to now yr, he had an acute episode of psychological well being, and it’s been a battle.”
She defined that her brother-in-law had begun sporting listening to aids and was satisfied he might hear individuals speaking about him on the two places of the capturing.
“He actually believed he was listening to individuals say issues,” she stated. “This all simply occurred inside the previous few months.”
The suspect confirmed an curiosity in right-wing pundits and politics on X, previously Twitter, earlier than his account was deleted by the corporate.
He favored posts from Elon Musk, Donald Trump Jr, Tucker Carlson and Jordan Peterson. He appeared to deal with content material that expressed anti-trans views, in addition to on gun rights, the coronavirus and the economic system.
Liking a submit doesn’t essentially signify that he agreed with the content material, and there’s no indication that it was a political assault.
The suspect’s account on X was captured by Heavy.com earlier than it was deleted by the platform, as per its coverage. The profile image on that account seems to match pictures launched by legislation enforcement.
In March, he favored a tweet from Trump Jnr that stated:
“Given the unimaginable rise of trans/non-binary mass shooters in the previous few years… by far the biggest group committing as a share of inhabitants… perhaps, moderately than speaking about weapons we needs to be speaking about lunatics pushing their gender-affirming bulls*** on our children?”
He additionally favored a video submit in March from by Carlson, the previous Fox Information commentator, which was accompanied by the textual content: “The trans motion, it seems, is the mirror picture of Christianity, and due to this fact its pure enemy. Individuals who consider they’re God can’t stand to be reminded that they’re not.”
One other theme that drew the suspect’s consideration was the coronavirus. He favored a number of posts that expressed scepticism over vaccines and public well being lockdowns.
The suspect adopted just a few accounts on the platform, amongst them a pro-Donald Trump ‘MAGA’ web page referred to as Proud Patriots, X proprietor Musk, Mark Cuban, the enterprise community CNBC and Joe Rogan, in accordance with Heavy.com. He additionally interacted with quite a lot of accounts of Republican politicians, similar to former Home speaker Kevin McCarthy and Jim Jordan.
The suspect favored not less than two posts from President Joe Biden’s account, referring to his administration’s efforts to deal with inflation and taxes. He additionally favored a number of by Jim Cramer, the CNBC host.
What occurred within the Lewiston capturing?
Round 7pm ET on Wednesday, police, fireplace and rescue personnel first descended on Simply In Time Recreation on Mollison Method, in Lewiston following a report of an energetic shooter.
Minutes later, extra 911 calls got here in for shootings at a neighborhood bar and restaurant, Schemengees Bar & Grille, on close by Lincoln Road.
Video shared on-line confirmed a number of police automobiles within the native space. A message put out on-line by Maine State Police suggested members of the general public to “shelter in place”.
“There may be an energetic shooter in Lewiston. We ask individuals to shelter in place. Please keep inside your own home with the doorways locked. Legislation enforcement is at present investigating at a number of places,” the power stated.
In complete, 18 individuals had been killed, whereas one other 13 had been injured within the assaults.
Among the many victims, seven individuals together with one feminine and 6 males had been discovered useless from gunshot wounds on the bowling alley.
Seven males had been killed contained in the Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant and one male was killed outdoors.
Maine capturing: Police urge public to shelter as ‘armed and harmful’ suspect on unfastened
Searches for the gunman continued all through Thursday, with Maine police holding a press convention within the night – although little new data was offered in regards to the gunman’s whereabouts.
On Friday, police stated that searches had been nonetheless being expanded because the shooter remained at giant, with diving groups being deployed within the Androscoggin River.
Maine’s public security commissioner, Michael Sauschuck, requested the general public for respect and persistence as police work to complete processing the scenes, figuring out victims and contacting households. He stated they deliberate to carry press conferences each morning till the suspect was discovered – simply hours earlier than Card’s physique was situated.
What do we all know in regards to the gunman’s demise?
On Friday night, Maine State Police stated they discovered the gunman’s physique in a field trailer within the overflow lot of Maine Recycling Company after a 48-hour-long manhunt.
The invention got here after the proprietor of the recycling plant reportedly referred to as in, urging police to take a look at the 55 to 60 trailers within the lot. Police stated that they had “cleared” the realm twice earlier than getting the decision from the proprietor, who was reportedly the shooter’s ex-boss.
The gunman is believed to have died by suicide.
“He’s useless,” Maine Governor Janet Mills stated at a information convention, as she thanked the officers concerned within the manhunt.
Ms Mills added: “Like many individuals, I’m respiration a sigh of reduction tonight, figuring out that Robert Card is not a menace to anybody… Now’s the time to heal.”
How is Lewiston coping with the tragedy?
Within the hours after the capturing, colleges and companies in Lewistown in addition to surrounding areas remained on lockdown as police looked for the gunman.
The county of Androscoggin in addition to the northern portion of Sagadahoc County had been beneath shelter-in-place orders till Friday afternoon – hours earlier than the gunman’s physique was discovered.
With a inhabitants of just one.3 million individuals, Maine has one of many nation’s lowest homicide charges with simply 29 killings in all of 2022.
Following the announcement of the shooter’s demise, the neighborhood is starting to heal.
On Saturday, a number of occasions had been resuming, and there was a gradual stream of site visitors at a River Street stable waste facility; with metropolis companies suspended beneath the shelter-in-place, garbage has been piling up all through Lewiston. Vigils can be held for victims over the weekend together with a big one on Sunday.
What has been the broader response?
The assaults have been roundly condemned by politicians and gun security advocacy teams, in addition to Maine native and writer Stephen King.
President Joe Biden ordered all US flags to be flown at half-mast, writing on-line: “As soon as once more, our nation mourns after one other mindless and tragic mass capturing. As we speak, Jill and I pray for the Individuals in Maine who’ve misplaced their lives, these in essential care, and the households, survivors, and neighborhood members enduring shock and grief.”
In her personal assertion, Vice President Kamala Harris referred to as for tighter gun security legal guidelines, telling reporters: “President Biden and I will not be ready round. Via the White Home Workplace of Gun Violence Prevention, we’ll proceed to work to save lots of lives.
“We do not need a second to spare, nor a life to spare.”
The White Home additionally requested newly-elected Home speaker Mike Johnson to “work collectively” on gun laws within the wake of the incident. “The Home has a brand new speaker, who has stated he is able to get to work and discover frequent floor,” White Home press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated in her afternoon briefing.
Earlier, Mr Johnson – who was elected on Wednesday – confronted criticism after merely providing “prayers” following the mass capturing, which he described as a “horrific tragedy”.
“This can be a darkish time in America, we now have quite a lot of issues and we’re actually, actually hopeful and prayerful. Prayer is acceptable in a time like this, that the evil can finish and this mindless violence can cease,” he stated.
“And in order that’s that’s the assertion this morning on behalf of all the Home of Representatives. Everybody needs this to finish and I’ll depart it there.”
In the meantime, Republican frontrunner and former president Donald Trump made a brief assertion on Fact Social saying, “A horrible scenario occurring in Maine. At the very least 22 useless. It simply appears to by no means finish for the USA!”
“This heinous assault, which has robbed the lives of not less than 18 Mainers and injured so many extra, the worst mass capturing that the state of Maine has ever skilled — and will ever think about,” Senator Susan Collins stated at a information convention on Thursday night.
Who’re the victims?
All 18 of the victims killed within the shootings have been recognized – together with a 14-year-old boy who had gone to the bowling alley along with his father that tragic night time.
Aaron Younger, 14, was along with his father Invoice Younger on the Simply In Time Recreation bowling alley for a night with their bowling league when the capturing unfolded.
Bob Violette, who was a local of Lewiston and ran a youth bowling league, was reportedly killed making an attempt to guard the children he was chargeable for on Wednesday night time.
Each he and his spouse Lucy had been avid bowlers, with Mr Violette beginning the youth bowling league at Sparetime Recreation, for which he was just lately inducted into the Maine Bowling Corridor of Fame.
Tommy Conrad, 34, labored as a supervisor on the bowling alley. He now leaves behind a nine-year-old daughter after he too was killed within the assault.
Two associates Michael Deslauriers and Jason Walker died saving their relations from the gunfire on the bowling alley after which charging on the shooter, it has been revealed.
Tricia Asselin labored part-time at Simply-In-Time Recreation and was there bowling on an evening off when the gunman got here in and opened fireplace.
On the second location, Schemengees Bar & Grille, one of many victims was recognized because the bar supervisor Joseph Walker.
A number of different victims on the bar had been attending a deaf cornhole match there on the time together with Joshua Seal, Stephen Vozzella and Billy Brackett and Bryan MacFarlane.
In the meantime, Arthur Strout, a 42-year-old father-of-five, had simply instructed his father he was going to remain for a pair extra video games when the capturing befell.
The Maine AFL-CIO – a state federation of over 160 native labor unions – introduced that considered one of its members, Peyton Brewer Ross was amongst these killed.
Ron Morin’s household confirmed he was additionally among the many victims, paying tribute to him in a Fb submit, writing: “Relaxation in Paradise, Ronnie. “This smile and your power will eternally be beloved and missed.”
Rachel Sharp, Kelly Rissman and Ariana Baio contributed to this report.
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