What to Know
- A massive search is underway for 40-year-old Robert Card, the man accused of being the gunman who left 18 people dead in a mass killing at a restaurant and a bowling alley in Lewiston.
- Residents in Lewiston and nearby towns are being urged to stay home and remain locked down until he has been arrested.
- Police said Card should be considered armed and dangerous.
Police are hunting for the gunman who killed more than a dozen people in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, charging a man who'd initially been referred to as a person of interest with murder as he remained at large.
Eighteen people were killed and 13 injured in the shootings at Just-In-Time Recreation, a bowling alley that recently changed its name from Sparetime Recreation, and Schemengees Bar and Grille, a restaurant, Maine Gov. Janet Mills said at a news conference. Police have yet to publicly identify any of the victims.
Robert Card, 40, of Bowdoin, Maine, was the subject of a massive search by local, state and federal law enforcement officials. Lockdowns remained in effect in three Maine communities — Lewiston, Bowdoin and Lisbon — and Card was facing at least eight murder charges, authorities said at a news conference.
Card is a firearms instructor trained by the military and was recently committed to a mental health facility, according to a state police bulletin that was being circulated to law enforcement officials on Wednesday night.
The assault rifle-style weapon Card used in the shooting was purchased legally in 2023, two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the matter told NBC News.
Card's military unit commander sent him to psychiatric treatment this summer, two senior law enforcement officials told NBC News.
As the search for the killer began, law enforcement sources had told NBC News chief justice contributor Jonathan Dienst that police believed they knew who the shooting suspect is and what vehicle he is driving. A vehicle of interest in the search was later found in Lisbon, Maine.
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Lewiston police released images showing a man in a brown shirt and blue pants walking into a bowling alley holding an assault-style rifle.
They also shared an image of a white vehicle that may have a front bumper painted black.
All of Androscoggin County, in southwestern Maine north of Portland and southwest of the capital, Augusta, had been under a shelter-in-place order Wednesday night. Local schools were closed in the Lewiston area, including Bates College.
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The shooting left Maine's governor and other leaders horrified.
Robert Card's military background, recent history
Card, who has been enlisted since 2002, is a U.S. Army reservist based out of Saco, Maine. He is a petroleum supply specialist.
A Maine State Police bulletin says Card was trained as a firearms instructor at the Army training facility in that state. But Army spokesperson Bryce Dubee disputed that in a statement to NBC10 Boston.
"The Army did not train SFC Card as a firearms instructor, nor did he serve in that capacity for the Army," Dubee wrote.
The bulletin from state police says Card had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks in the summer of 2023. It did not provide specific details about his treatment or condition.
It also said Card had reported hearing voices and had threatened to carry out a shooting at the military training base in Saco, Maine.
Police logs obtained by the NBC10 Boston Investigators show that after the shootings, police in Saco responded to the Army Reserve facility there as a precaution.
A U.S. official told The Associated Press that Card had been taken by police for an evaluation after military officials became concerned that he was acting erratically in mid-July.
The official said commanders in 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 in New York.
The official said military commanders became concerned about Card’s safety and asked for the police to be called. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss information about the incident and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Dubee said that while Card's unit supported the training at West Point in July, "there are no records to indicate he instructed or participated in any training."
West Point officials tell the NBC10 Boston Investigators that Card wasn't involved in any type of instructor role and didn't have interactions with cadets.
A law enforcement source with direct knowledge tells NBC10 Boston that authorities pinged Card's phone to the family home on West Road in Bowdoin, and that inside, items were found stockpiled. Cold weather gear and hunting gear were found, but Card was nowhere to be found.
A telephone number listed for Card in public records was not in service.
Card attended the University of Maine between 2001 and 2004, studying engineering, the school confirmed to NBC News.
The father of a manager killed at Schemengees told NBC News' Lester Holt that Card had been to the bar before.
"All of the people over there know him," said Leroy Walker. "He would actually come to Schemengees; he'd been there off and on."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
