The Army reservist who opened fire in a bowling alley and then at a bar in Lewiston, Maine, killing 18 people, was found dead Friday from a self-inflicted gunshot, ending an intensive two-day search that had the state on edge.
Robert Card, a firearms instructor who grew up in the area, was found dead in nearby Lisbon Falls, Gov. Janet Mills said at a Friday night news conference.
“Like many people I'm breathing a sigh of relief tonight knowing that Robert Card is no longer a threat to anyone,” Mills said.
Commissioner of Maine Department of Public Safety Mike Sauschuck said Card was found at 7:45 pm near the Androscoggin River, about 8 miles (13 kilometers) southeast of where the second shooting occurred Wednesday evening. He declined to divulge the location but an official told The Associated Press the body was at a recycling center from which Card recently was fired.
The official was not authorized to discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to on condition of anonymity.
Leo Madden, who said he ran Maine Recycling Corp. for decades, said Card had worked there for a couple of years but said he couldn't recall the dates and didn't know if Card was “fired or didn't show up.”
“He was a good employee,” Madden told the AP, adding that nothing about the man stood out to him while he was an employee. Mills said she had called President Joe Biden to alert him that Card was dead.
“Tonight we're grateful that Lewiston and surrounding communities are safe after spending excruciating days hiding in their homes,” Biden said in a statement. He added that “Americans should not have to live like this” and called on Congress to take action on gun violence.
Card, 40, of Bowdoin, Maine, was a US Army reservist who underwent a mental health evaluation in mid-July after he began acting erratically during training, a U.S. official told The Associated Press.
Card had been sought since the Wednesday night shootings, and murder warrants were issued against him.
A bulletin sent to police across the country shortly after the attack said Card had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks this past summer after “hearing voices and threats to shoot up” a military base.
A US official said Card was training with the Army Reserve's 3rd Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiment in West Point, New York, when commanders became concerned about him. State police took Card to the Keller Army Community Hospital at West Point for evaluation, according to the official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the information and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.