Intensive search for Maine mass shooting suspect enters second day

The search for suspected Lewiston, Maine, mass shooter Robert Card entered its second day Friday, after authorities executed search warrants on possible hiding locations late Thursday.

Hundreds of law enforcement officers are on the lookout for Card across central Maine after 18 people were killed and 13 more injured in a pair of shootings at a bowling alley and a restaurant late Wednesday.

Thursday’s efforts focused on the home of his brother and sister-in-law, which authorities searched after hours of a standoff outside. It is unclear if Card, an Army reservist, was ever at the home.

Eight of the 13 injured victims are still in the hospital, according to medical officials. Five of them are in stable condition, while three remained in critical condition as of Thursday evening.

The city of Lewiston, the second largest in the state, remains locked down amid the search for Card. Multiple school districts in the area have closed Friday, and few residents are choosing to leave their homes.

The shooting shocked the state, which has one of the lowest gun crime rates in the nation.

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) described Wednesday as “one of the darkest days” he could remember. 

“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 we had the second lowest gun crime rate as of the day before yesterday,” King said.

“That’s what’s 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.

The shootings have sparked a renewed debate over gun legislation, specifically an assault weapons ban. Officials reportedly described the weapon used in the shootings as an assault rifle with an extended magazine and scope.

Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) announced Thursday that he would now support such a ban, noting that the shooting changed his mind after years of being against it.

Golden called his previous opposition a “misjudgment.”

“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,” Golden said at a press conference Thursday.

“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.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was also pressed by multiple reporters at the same press conference on whether 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 replied. “Certainly, there’s always more that can be done.”

Updated at 7:37 a.m. ET