Suspected Maine gunman found dead by apparent suicide, officials say

The manhunt for the suspected Maine shooter has ended.

Robert Card, the suspect in the Oct. 25 shooting that took place at a bowling alley and a restaurant in Lewiston, Maine, has been found dead, senior law enforcement officials tell NBC News.

In a press conference on Friday evening, Gov. Janet Mills and law enforcement officials confirmed Card had been found in the town of Lisbon Falls, Maine.

He was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at 7:45 p.m. near the Androscoggin River in Lisbon Falls, Mike Sauschuck, commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety said on Oct. 27.

It’s unclear when he died, Sauschuck said.

The shooter is accused of killing 18 people and injuring several others, police say. The victims were identified Friday afternoon, the youngest being only age 14.

  • Ronald G. Morin, 55

  • Peyton Brewer-Ross, 40

  • Joshua A. Seal, 36

  • Bryan M. MacFarlane, 41

  • Joseph Lawrence Walker, 57

  • Arthur Fred Strout, 42

  • Maxx A. Hathaway, 35

  • Stephen M. Vozzella, 45

  • Thomas Ryan Conrad, 34

  • Michael R. Deslauries II, 51

  • Jason Adam Walker, 51

  • Tricia C. Asselin, 53

  • William A. Young, 44

  • Aaron Young, 14

  • Robert E. Violette, 76

  • Lucille M. Violette, 73

  • William Frank Brackett, 48

  • Keith D. Macneir, 64

Card, 40, was an Army reservist whose family says was experiencing deteriorating mental health in the days before the shooting.

Officials are expected to give another press conference on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. ET.

Here’s what to know about the shooting that took place in Lewiston, Maine:

Who is Robert Card?

Robert Card was an Army Reservist and firearms instructor.

He enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2002. He was a petroleum supply specialist and had no combat deployments, Army spokesperson Bryce Dubee said in a statement to NBC News.

Dubee also noted that the Army did not train Sgt. 1st Class Card “as a firearms instructor, nor did he serve in that capacity for the Army.”

He had a son who recently graduated from high school, his sister-in-law, Katie Card, told NBC News.

Katie Card also said that her brother-in-law was struggling with his mental health leading up to the shooting, saying he had been hearing voices saying “horrible” things about him.”

“He was picking up voices that he had never heard,” she told NBC News. “His mind was twisting them around. He was humiliated by the things that he thought were being said.”

According to a bulletin from the Maine Information and Analysis Center, a law enforcement database, Card had “recently reported mental health issues to include hearing voices and threats to shoot up the National Guard Base in Saco, ME.”

What happened in Lewiston?

On Oct. 25, police say a shooter opened fire at a bowling alley called Just-in-Time Recreation in Lewiston, Maine.

The shooter killed seven people at the bowling alley, which had been hosting a gathering for youth league matches, NBC News reported.

The shooter then went to a nearby restaurant, Schemengees Bar and Grille, where he also opened fire, killing eight people.

That evening, the bar had been hosting a cornhole tournament for deaf people, according to NBC News.

In addition to those found dead at the scenes, three people died later at local hospitals, officials say, and 13 people were wounded.

How long was Card missing?

The shooter was still at-large as of Friday afternoon, two days after the shooting occurred. By Friday evening, senior law enforcement officials confirmed to NBC News that he had been found dead.

Hundreds of law enforcement officers participated in the manhunt, which included dive teams and air searches.

Officials confirmed Friday that a note had been found during the search for Card, but that they could not comment on the contents of the note.

Officials lifted the order to to residents of Lewiston and other nearby communities to shelter in place Friday afternoon, hours before Card was found dead.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com

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