Maine suspect still at large after 18 killed in deadliest shooting of 2023: Recap
At least 18 people were killed and 13 injured Wednesday night in a mass shooting incident at two locations in Lewiston, Maine, and the suspect remains at large.
Police have released a photo of Robert Card, 40, as a person of interest. Card, a member of the Army Reserves, is “considered armed and dangerous,” according to officials.
More than 100 federal and local investigators are searching for the subject.
Law enforcement officials sent an alert of an active-shooter situation at Schemengees Bar & Grille, a restaurant, and at Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley about 4 miles away. People in the bowling alley said the shooting began about 7 p.m.
Follow below for live updates.
Despite securing a season-opening 130-114 victory against the Utah Jazz, Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown, visibly distraught, shifted his post-game address to the mass shooting in Maine.
“I don’t even want to talk about basketball,” Brown said. “I’m sorry. We played a game, it was fun. Obviously, we won but if we can’t do anything to fix this, it’s over. It’s over for our country for this to happen time after time.”
The coach said he learned about the shooting right before he was walking up to the press conference.
“I’m walking over here and somebody says it was a mass shooting in Maine with 20-22 dead at a grocery store, at a fricking grocery store man,” Brown said.
At least 18 people were killed and 13 injured Wednesday night in a mass shooting incident at two locations in Lewiston, Maine. The suspect remains at large.
Brown, visibly upset, described the shooting as “absolutely disgusting” and offered sympathy for the victims’ families.
“If that doesn’t touch anybody, I don’t, I don’t know,” Brown said. “I don’t even know what to say. That is absolutely disgusting. And it’s sad. And it’s sad that we sit here and watch this happen time after time after time after time. And nobody does anything about it. I feel for the families.”
Brown later offered praise for veteran NBA players like LeBron James and Chris Paul for using “their platform the right way.” Brown also praised the NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) said he is “sick and tired” of hearing hopes and prayers for the victims of mass shootings. He said he thinks suspect Robert Card should still have been in a mental health institution.
Authorities have said Card was committed to a mental health facility for two weeks this past summer and reported “hearing voices and threats to shoot up,” a military base.
“When you have a situation where someone is put involuntarily in a psychiatric hospital for two weeks, and is known by the police, by their family, by … in this case, the military commander, to be a danger to the community and perhaps themselves as well, they shouldn’t have this kind of firepower,” Sherman said in an interview with The Hill’s Blake Burman.
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Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) continued her calls for an assault weapons ban after the mass shooting in Lewiston.
“As our nation reels from the horrific mass shooting in Lewiston, ME, we must be resolute to prevent gun violence,” she said on X, formerly Twitter.
“We know from experience that an assault weapons ban save lives. That’s why House Democrats passed a ban last year. It’s past time — we must ban assault weapons now!”
– Nick Robertson
Maine police raided the home of suspected gunman Robert Card’s brother and sister-in-law on Thursday afternoon, the Lewiston Sun Journal reported.
Police said no gunshots were fired as police searched the home for Card, who is believed to have killed 18 people in a mass shooting in Lewiston on Wednesday.
The home is in Bowdoin, Maine, not far from Lewiston.
More than 350 law enforcement agents are participating in the manhunt for Card.
Authorities have given scant updates about their search for Card in an effort to not tip him off, they said.
– Nick Robertson
Eight people remain in the hospital late Thursday after the mass shooting in Lewiston on Wednesday, according to hospital officials.
Central Maine Medical Center’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Alexander said that 14 victims arrived at the hospital late Wednesday and three died of their injuries.
Of the eight patients still in the hospital, five are in stable condition while three are in critical condition, he said.
– Nick Robertson
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) avoided answering whether she would support a new assault weapons ban, minutes after Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) said he would now back one.
Collins was pressed by multiple reporters in a press conference Thursday but did not give a clear answer if she would vote for a ban.
“I think it is more important that we ban very high capacity magazines. I think that would have more input and more effectiveness,” Collins said. “Certainly, there’s always more that can be done.”
— Nick Robertson
Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), a native of Lewiston, pledged to pursue an assault weapons ban after a mass shooting killed at least 18 people in the town.
“Sometimes things happen that bring your worst nightmares to life. Yesterday, this is what happened to Lewiston,” Golden said at a press conference Thursday.
He previously did not support such a ban.
“Out of fear of this dangerous world that we live in, in my determination to protect my own daughter and wife in our home and in our community, because of a false confidence that our community was above this and that we could be in full control, among many other misjudgments, I have opposed efforts to ban deadly weapons of war, like the assault rifle used to carry out this crime,” he said.
“The time has now come for me to take responsibility for this failure, which is why I now call on the United States Congress to ban assault rifles, like the one used by the sick perpetrator of this mass killing in my hometown of Lewiston, Maine,” he continued. “For the good of my community, I will work with any colleague to get this done in the time that I have left in Congress.”
“To the people of Lewiston, my constituents throughout the 2nd District, to those who lost loved ones and to those who have been harmed, I ask for forgiveness and support as I seek to put an end to these terrible shootings,” he said.
— Nick Robertson
The Army has released further details about reservist and suspected gunman Robert Card following reports that he behaved “erratically” while helping train West Point cadets over the summer.
Card, who is assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiment in Saco, Maine, deployed with his Army Reserve Unit to Camp Smith Training Center in Upstate New York in July to help train the cadets, according to service spokesperson Bryce Dubee.
But while his unit supported the summer training, “there are no records to indicate [Card] instructed or participated in any training,” Dubee said in a statement.
Furthermore, the Army did not train Card as a firearms instructor, nor did he serve in that capacity for the Army.
Multiple outlets have reported that Card allegedly threatened other soldiers with violence at the training site, prompting his superiors to informed garrison staff about his behavior on July 17.
The unit requested that law enforcement be contacted over concerns for his safety, and Card was transported to Keller Army Community Hospital at the U.S. Military Academy for medical evaluation.
“We take matters such as this very seriously, and our primary concern is ensuring that all legal and appropriate actions are taken in accordance with our commitment to upholding the highest standards of conduct among our Soldiers and civilian personnel,” Dubee said. “We will continue to collaborate [with] and support local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.”
— Ellen Mitchell
Actor Patrick Dempsey, who was born in Lewiston, expressed his condolences and shock over Wednesday night’s shooting in his hometown.
“I am shocked, and deeply saddened by last night’s tragedy in my hometown, Lewiston, Maine,” Dempsey wrote in an Instagram post. “Maine’s greatest strength is its sense of community, and now we are being asked to come together to support everyone that has been devastated by this senseless act. My family and I are heartbroken for the victims, their families, and the community.”
— Miranda Nazzaro
Comedians John Mulaney and Pete Davidson have canceled a pair of shows scheduled for this week in the wake of the mass shooting.
“We are devastated by the events in Lewiston,” Mulaney wrote in a Instagram story Thursday. “Shows scheduled for this weekend in Maine on Saturday, 10/28 and Sunday, 10/29 have been postponed. We are thinking of you all.”
According to Ticketmaster, the two had shows scheduled next weekend at the Cross Insurance Center in Portland.
— Miranda Nazzaro
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said the mass shooting in Maine is “one of the darkest days” he can remember.
“This is one of the darkest days I can remember,” King said in an interview on NBC.
“It’s just been awful. We’ve got schools closed, colleges locked down and the manhunt has expanded, because this fellow apparent abandoned a vehicle about eight miles from where I am,” he continued.
King said he left Washington Thursday morning and is staying in Auburn, Maine, which he said is “right across the river from Lewiston.”
King said it remains unclear whether the suspected gunman, Robert Card, took off in another vehicle or if he is on the river where he abandoned his car.
“And here’s why it’s so shocking — I think because Maine has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the nation. And the figure, I saw this morning was had the second lowest gun crime rate as of the day before yesterday,” King said.
“That’s what making this so difficult is to grasp the concept of frankly, something we didn’t think was going to be part of something we had to deal with again because of the deep and long history of safe gun use in the state,” he continued.
— Miranda Nazzaro
An Army spokesperson confirmed the suspected gunman Robert Card is a U.S. Army reservist who enlisted in December 2002.
“Sgt. 1st Class Robert R. Card II is a Petroleum Supply Specialist in the Army Reserve, enlisting in December 2002,” an Army spokesperson told The Hill.
The spokesperson said Card has no combat deployments. He received awards including the Army Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal (twice), Humanitarian Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon, the spokesperson said.
—Miranda Nazzaro, Ellen Mitchell
Maine’s “yellow flag” law is under renewed scrutiny in the wake of the mass shooting with some gun-control advocates pushing for stricter gun safety measures.
A “yellow flag” law was created a little more than four years ago in Maine that tried to align with Maine’s pro-Second Amendment mindset while still taking a step toward stronger gun safety measures. Under it, law enforcement can detain someone they suspect is mentally ill and poses a threat to themselves or others, The Associated Press reported.
It differs from red flag laws in that it requires a medical practitioner to first examine a person and deem them a threat before police can petition a judge to order the seizure of the person’s firearms.
Authorities reportedly said suspect Robert Card was committed to a mental health facility for two weeks this past summer and reported “hearing voices and threats to shoot up,” a military base. It wasn’t clear if the yellow flag law had been invoked in Card’s case.
Maine is one of an estimated 20 states that allow permitless carry, meaning people can carry a concealed weapon in public without a permit.
Efforts for stricter gun control laws and red flag law proposals in Maine have failed in recent years.
— Miranda Nazzaro
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) — who in 2011 was a victim of a mass shooting that left her partly paralyzed with imperfect speech — called for “overdue action” on gun reform.
“I wish I could say that the stories we’ve read last night and today are unthinkable or unimaginable. But we are all too familiar with these horrific scenes,” she said in a statement.
“We will keep reading about how gun violence is the number one cause of death for America’s kids,” she added.
“But we can decide enough is enough. We do not have to accept these horrific acts of violence as routine, and we must never stop demanding that our leaders not only acknowledge this devastating problem, but take long overdue action to keep our children safe.”
The Maine State Police provided an updated timeline on the events that transpired Wednesday night.
The new timeline includes details about when police released the suspect’s photo, at 8:06 p.m.; when they identified the suspect as Robert Card, at 9:26 p.m.; and when Lisbon Police Department notified Lewiston Police Department that they had located a vehicle that belonged to the suspect, at 9:56 p.m.
The previous timeline revealed the first 911 call from Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley, came in at 6:56 p.m.
Multiple 911 calls then came in from Schemengees Bar & Grille at 7:08 p.m.