40-year-old Robert Card, the man who carried out the mass shooting that left 18 people dead in Lewiston, Maine, was found dead on Friday. His body was discovered inside a cargo trailer on the grounds of a recycling plant he used to work out. Police believe he committed suicide and claim that he had a gunshot wound.
His body was discovered Friday evening after a 48-hour long search that sent many Maine residents into lockdown. The trailer was unlocked and attached to one of a dozen tractor-trailer rigs. He reportedly appeared to be wearing the same outfit he wore when he committed the shooting, as seen in security footage.
The police had already searched the plant twice, but had not thought to investigate the additional lot containing over 50 trailers. A police tactical team returned to the lot Friday to search it thoroughly, according to a statement made by Maine Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck on Saturday.
The recycling plant is less than a mile away from the Pejepscot Boat Launch on the Androscoggin River where he left his white Subaru outback. A rifle was purportedly discovered in his vehicle and two guns were found with his body. All of Card’s weapons were purchased legally, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
According to Sauschuck, three of the people wounded in the attacks were still in critical condition as of Saturday. A total of 18 people were murdered and 13 wounded at the bowling alley and restaurant Card shot up on Wednesday night.
🔴 BREAKING NEWS | 🇺🇸
The American shooter, Robert Card, who killed 18 people and injured 13 on Wednesday evening in Lewiston, was found dead this night, likely having committed suicide with a firearm.#RobertCard #Lewiston #Maine #LewistonMaine #Massshooting #Shootingincident… pic.twitter.com/xwn7DdCpAR— Breaking News (@PlanetReportHQ) October 28, 2023
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Vigils were held by Maine residents over the weekend, with attendees praying together and singing “Amazing Grace.”
Card’s motive has yet to be established by authorities, but he left a note at his house addressed to an undisclosed loved one, giving them his phone password and his bank account information. Sauschuck said authorities are certain to include a mental illness as a factor in their report, including Card’s paranoia and his feeling that “people were talking about him.” Card also heard voices in his head, according to a police bulletin that circulated after the attack.
Card was rejected when he attempted to purchase a silencer for a rifle from an online gun store in August due to his mental health history.
Card had previously threatened to shoot up the National Guard base in Saco, Maine. While he was committed to a mental health facility for two weeks in summer 2023, Sauschuck claims Card was never “forcibly committed” for treatment.
According to a source that spoke to CNN, the Maine National Guard had asked local police to investigate Robert Card six weeks before the attack due to a soldier’s report that he might “snap and commit a mass shooting.” In response, officers from Kennebec and Sagadahoc Counties sought to get into contact with Card at the time. A sergeant from Sagadahoc County tried to talk to Card without success. When he reached out to his family and the Maine National Guard, he learned that Card would answer the door with a gun out of view.
Maine has laws on the books that would have allowed law enforcement to put Card into custody and evaluated for mental issues. Following a diagnosis, a judge can order temporary removal of firearms from the person under a “yellow flag” law. It seems that a File 6 missing person’s report was filed by the same sergeant at the time, but it was not clear who it was for or if they sought to flag him. According to the source that spoke to CNN, the case seems to have been closed on October 1, or three weeks before the attack occurred.
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