Lewiston Maine shooting LIVE: Suspect Robert Card found dead newsbhunt

Maine gun laws under scrutiny

Under the state’s “yellow flag” law, a medical professional is required to assess whether the person in question “presents a likelihood of foreseeable harm,” and if this person does, the professional must notify law enforcement.

This assessment is then presented to law enforcement, who take it to a judge to determine whether that person should be able to possess a firearm.

Sen Susan Collins addressed the law in question on Thursday. “The fact that the suspect was hospitalized for two weeks for mental illness should have triggered the yellow flag law. He should have been separated from his weapons,” Ms Collins said. “I’m sure that after the fact, that it’s going to be looked at very closely.”

The public safety commissioner also emphasised on Saturday that authorities have not found any evidence to suggest Card was forciblytaken into a mental health facility, as reports have claimed that he spent weeks at a facility over the summer.

If this is the case, it raises the question of whether this tragedy could spark a change in the state’s gun laws.

Who are the victims? Bob and Lucy Violette were tragically killed in Wednesday’s attacks

Bob Violette, a 76-year-old retired Sears mechanic and avid bowler, was identified by his daughter-in-law Cassandra as one of the victims, she told the Portland Press Herald.

Mr Violette, who was a native of Lewiston and ran a youth bowling league, was reportedly killed trying to protect the kids he was responsible for on Wednesday night.

Both he and his wife Lucy were keen bowlers, having started the youth bowling league at Sparetime Recreation, for which Mr Violette was recently inducted into the Maine Bowling Hall of Fame.

“He wouldn’t let you walk out the door without giving him a hug, and a kiss on the check. He was just there for everything,” Cassandra said.

She said he had a special bond with his grandkids and was a doting husband to his wife Lucy, who was injured in the shooting. However, her condition is unknown.

“His first thought every day was her,” Cassandra added.

Lucy Violette was later confirmed to have also died following the shooting, during Friday’s press conference.

How did Robert Card get from place to place?

• The two locations of the shootings — the bowling alley and restaurant — are just four miles, or a 10-minute drive, apart in Lewiston, Maine.
• Hours after reports of the active shooting, police located a white Suburu station wagon belonging to Card near a boat landing in Lisbon. The vehicle contained a long gun.
• Card’s body was found in a box trailer in the overflow lot of Maine Recycling Corporation.
• Police said there is a “natural connection” between the boat landing and the recycling plant via a trail.
• Details are yet to be solidified, but officials said on Saturday morning that there is no evidence suggesting Card did anything but walk along the trail that linked the two locations.

Two firearms were recovered from the scene and a third firearm — a long gun — was recovered from a white Subaru station wagon, which officials had identified as belonging to Card on Wednesday night. The “vehicle of interest” had been found at a boat landing in Lisbon.

In addition to the recycling corporation owner calling police, Mr Sauschuck also revealed that three family members “positively identified” Card after photos were posted of him wielding what appeared to be an AR-15-style weapon. These weapons were “legally purchased,” police said.

Resources have been put in place for victims and those traumatised by the shooting

The aftermath: what we know

Maine shooting suspect Robert Card’s body was found at a recycling centre after a tip from the owner prompted police to search it for the third time.

Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck held a press conference on Saturday morning to provide new details on the discovery of the suspected shooter’s body following a multi-day manhunt after 18 people were killed and 13 injured in Lewiston.

The owner reportedly said “this individual knows the property” and urged authorities to examine the trailers in the overflow lot, Mr Sauschuck said.

WATCH: A Maine Democrat reversed his position on gun laws after tragedy broke out this week

After identifying Robert Card as the “person of interest”, the sheriff’s office made photos of him public for identification. He could be seen in the images wearing brown clothes and brandishing a high-powered assault-style rifle.

The law enforcement also unveiled a picture of the vehicle under investigation – a compact white SUV featuring a front bumper painted black. It was a car that the Maine State Police confirmed as belonging to the shooter.

Card, 40, served as a firearms instructor in the US Army Reserve.

As a Sgt 1st class and Petroleum Supply Specialist, he joined in 2002 and had no combat deployments.

He recently disclosed mental health issues, citing experiences of auditory hallucinations including hearing voices and threats to shoot up the National Guard Base in Saco, according to a Maine law enforcement bulletin seen by the Associated Press.

He was also committed to a mental health facility for two weeks during the summer of 2023. Card’s family members have revealed their shock, with the 40-year-old’s sister-in-law telling The Daily Beast that they are “shaken” by the news.

“I have known Rob my whole life,” Card said on Thursday. “He is quiet but the most loving, hardworking, and kind person that I know. But in the past year, he had an acute episode of mental health, and it’s been a struggle.”

She explained that her brother-in-law had begun wearing hearing aids and was convinced he could hear people talking about him at the two locations of the shooting.

“He truly believed he was hearing people say things,” she said. “This all just happened within the last few months.”

John Miller, chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst for CNN, described the weapon as an AR15-style rifle with a possible telescopic sight. He noted that the gunman was wearing blue tactical pants with “bulging” pockets, suggesting the possibility that he was carrying extra ammunition.

The suspect’s social media posts: unveiled

The suspect showed an interest in right-wing pundits and politics on X, formerly Twitter, before his account was deleted by the company.

He liked posts from Elon Musk, Donald Trump Jr, Tucker Carlson and Jordan Peterson. He appeared to focus on content that expressed anti-trans views, as well as on gun rights, the coronavirus and the economy.

Liking a post does not necessarily signify that he agreed with the content, and there is no indication that it was a political attack.

The suspect’s account on X was captured by Heavy.com before it was deleted by the platform, as per its policy. The profile picture on that account appears to match photographs released by law enforcement.

In March, he liked a tweet from Trump Jnr that said:

“Given the incredible rise of trans/non-binary mass shooters in the last few years… by far the largest group committing as a percentage of population… maybe, rather than talking about guns we should be talking about lunatics pushing their gender affirming bulls*** on our kids?”

Mike Bedigan has the full story…

Details emerge after suspected shooter’s death, showing family helped identify Robert Card

Police previously said that shortly after photos of the suspected shooter were released to the public — which were posted just an hour after a 911 of the first shooting — Lewiston Police Department received a call identifying the man in photos as 40-year-old Card.

Hours after Card was found dead from an apparent suicide following a dayslong manhunt, officials confirmed that his family members had identified him in the photos.

“This family has been incredibly cooperative,” said Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck at a Saturday morning press conference.