Maine can “breathe a sigh of relief,” the northeastern US state’s governor said after the alleged perpetrator of a shooting that killed 18 people in Lewiston was found dead.
At a press conference held Friday evening, Janet Mills revealed that the body of Robert Card, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, was found in the town of Lisbon Falls, eight miles from Lewiston.
“Like many people, I am breathing a sigh of relief tonight knowing that Robert Card is no longer a threat to anyone,” Mills said.
“I also know that his death may not bring comfort to many. But now is the time to heal,” added the governor, who confirmed that she had already relayed the news to US President Joe Biden.
At the same conference, Commissioner of Public Safety for the State of Maine, Mike Sauschuck, said that the body of the 40-year-old retired soldier was found around 7:45 PM on Friday (12:45 AM this Saturday in Lisbon). ), next to the Androscoggin River, near where Card left his car.
Lewiston’s police chief said the community can now “breathe with relief.” “It is critically important to all of us that this conclusion has come to light tonight,” said David St. Pierre. “Let us pray for the families who have lost loved ones,” he added.
Hours earlier, Mike Sauschuck had suspended the shelter-in-place order during another news conference in which he named the 18 shooting victims, ages 14 to 76.
The evacuation order was lifted after authorities searched hundreds of hectares, sent diving teams to the bottom of a river and analyzed a possible suicide note.
Robert Card was suspected of killing 18 people and wounding 13 others at a bowling alley and bar in Maine on Wednesday, sparking a two-day manhunt that put the state on alert.
Police and other law enforcement officers were seen in several parts of the region on Friday. Divers searched the area of a boat in Lisbon Falls and a farm in the same city.
A gun was found in Card’s car, discovered near a boat ramp, and federal agents tested it to determine if it was used in the shooting, two agents told The Associated Press.
Authorities on Thursday found a suicide note addressed to his son at a home associated with Card, officials said. The note did not mention a specific motive for the shooting.
This shooting was the deadliest in the US since the attack on a school in Uvalde, Texas, in which a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in May 2022.
Source: DN
