Maine shooting: New details emerge in Robert Card's death

Police had been searching for suspect Robert Card since Wednesday night.

ByEmily Shapiro, Aaron Katersky, Josh Margolin, and Sasha Pezenik
Last Updated: October 28, 2023, 11:40 AM EDT

The manhunt has ended for suspect Robert Card, who allegedly killed 18 people and injured 13 others in a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday evening. Gov. Janet Mills confirmed the suspect was found dead Friday night of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Wednesday's mass shooting unfolded in two locations: a bowling alley where a children's league was taking place and a local bar, officials said.

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Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Oct 27, 2023, 5:28 pm

What we know about the victims

The names of the 18 people killed in Wednesday night's mass shooting in Maine were released by authorities on Friday.

The victims at the bowling alley include youth bowling coach Bob Violette and his wife Lucille Violette, as well as bowling alley manager Tommy Conrad.

Flags fly at half-staff on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Oct 26, 2023 to honor victims of the Oct. 25 mass-shooting in Lewiston Maine.
Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA via Shutterstock

Aaron Young, 14, and his father William "Bill" Young, 43, were also among the victims at the bowling alley, their family said.

Victims Steven Vozzella and Bill Brackett were among those killed at Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant. They were a part of a gathering of deaf people playing cornhole.

-ABC News' Whitney Lloyd

Oct 26, 2023, 4:02 PM EDT

Gun recovered from suspect's car: Sources

Investigators recovered a gun from the abandoned car of mass shooting suspect Robert Card, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Law enforcement is attempting to locate Robert Card as a person of interest regarding the mass shooting at Schemengees Bar and Sparetime Recreation in Lewiston, Maine, Oct. 25, 2023.
Lewiston Maine Police Department

Card's white Subaru was found Wednesday night.

Authorities are testing and tracing the gun to determine if it was involved in the shooting, according to multiple law enforcement sources.

Card may have access to other firearms. Sources said law enforcement is treating him as though he is armed and dangerous.

-ABC News' Luke Barr

Oct 26, 2023, 3:48 PM EDT

Witnesses recount scramble to survive

The shooting unfolded in part during youth night at a local bowling alley. Witnesses described a desperate scene where people hid behind benches and tables and even inside the bowling pin machine at the end of a lane.

Meghan Hutchinson, who was at the bowling alley with her daughter said, "When I turned around, I saw the shooter. ... I don't know if that was just a warning shot or if he shot somebody with that [bullet]."

"Between the lanes there's some swinging doors where they keep all the mechanical stuff out back, so we kind of all just ran that way," she said. "We barricaded in there and another parent was in the room with me. She had a phone, she called 911."

ABC News' Trevor Ault is at the Central Maine Medical Center where many of the injured in the Lewiston mass shooting are being treated.
1:09

Security measures in place for victims in hospital after Maine mass shooting

ABC News' Trevor Ault is at the Central Maine Medical Center where many of the injured in the Lewiston mass shooting are being treated.
ABCNews.com

Her daughter, 10-year-old Zoey Levesque, was grazed by a bullet.

"I never thought I'd grow up and get a bullet in my leg," she said. "Like, why do people do this? I was more worried about, like, am I going to live and going to make it out of here? Like, what's going to happen? Are the cops going to come?"

Oct 26, 2023, 3:21 PM EDT

Suspect's sister says he may have been looking for his ex: Law enforcement officials

The family of mass shooting suspect Robert Card is cooperating with authorities, law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation told ABC News.

The family is laying out an account of a deeply troubled person, the sources said, bolstering earlier accounts of mental health treatment, voices in his head and alleged threats to shoot up a National Guard facility.

Card's sister told investigators she thought Card might have been looking for an ex-girlfriend at the shooting locations: a bowling alley and a bar, the sources said.

Robert Card, a person of interest in the Maine mass shooting, in an undated photo from Facebook.
Facebook

Oct 26, 2023, 3:09 PM EDT

Coast Guard searching Kennebec River

The U.S. Coast Guard is searching the Kennebec River in Maine for any sign of the mass shooting suspect, Robert Card.

Card owns a boat and property in the Lewiston area, according to a source briefed on the situation.

"Currently, one response boat crew from Station Boothbay Harbor, and an Air Station Cape Cod HC-144 fixed wing aircraft are assisting with patrols," Coast Guard spokesperson Rob Simpson said in a statement.

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