(Maine Morning Star) — The 40-year-old man suspected of murdering 18 people in Lewiston, Maine, was found dead Friday night after a two-day search.
“I stand here tonight to simply report that Maine State Police have located the body of Robert Card,” said Gov. Janet Mills at a 10 p.m. news conference on Oct. 27 in Lewiston City Hall.
Card is suspected of killing 18 people and wounding 13 others in a mass shooting at two locations at Just-In-Time Recreation and Schemengees Bar and Grille in Lewiston.
Mike Sauschuck, commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, said Card’s body was found dead at 7:45 p.m. along the Androscoggin River of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in Lisbon Falls. He did not confirm a specific address.
“I’m very happy to say the threat is over,” said Lewiston Police Chief David St. Pierre.
Mills said she called President Joe Biden to share the news with him. She added that law enforcement continues to investigate the shooting in order to bring as much closure as possible for the victims’ families and the larger community.
Sauschuck said there are still details that need to be sorted out by the medical examiner, such as when exactly Card died.
Victims identified
At a press conference earlier Friday evening, Sauschuck identified the names and ages of the 18 victims. Sauschuck said the families of the victims were notified first, as well as Card’s family, many of whom cooperated with law enforcement throughout the search.
“They lost a loved one in this scenario,” he said. “They deserved that phone call.”
The victims range in age from 14 to 76, including a father and his 14-year-old son. A moment of silence was taken after sharing all of the names:
Ronald G. Morrin, 55
Peyton Brewer-Ross, 40
Joshua Seal, 36
Ryan MacFarlane, 41
Joseph Lawrence Walker, 57
Arthur Fred Strout, 42
Maxx Hathaway, 35
Steven Vozzella, 45
Thomas Ryan Conrad, 34
Michal Deslauriers II, 51
Jason Adam Walker, 51
Trisha Asselin, 53
William Young, 44
Aaron Young, 14
Robert Violette, 76
Lucille Violette, 73
William Frank Brackett, 48
Keith Macneir, 64
Gov. Mills released a statement after the victims’ names were released. Illustrating just how much Maine is “one big, small town,” Mills said she, too, knew one of the victims.
“Many of us know the victims personally, including me, who lost a friend in Josh Seal, who Maine people fondly remember from his service as an ASL interpreter during our COVID-19 briefings,” Mills’ statement read.
She asked Mainers to join her in “reading their stories, learning who they were, celebrating them as beloved people and mourning them as irreplaceable.”
Shelter in place order lifted
The shelter-in-place order was lifted earlier Friday evening for local communities. The hunting ban announced earlier for Lisbon, Bowdoin, Lewiston, and Monmouth was also lifted.
“A wave of relief just ran over me,” Jake Langlais, superintendent of Lewiston Public Schools, wrote on X. “A big step toward healing and everyone who has been searching in such dangerous conditions can go home safe to their families. More work to do but this news means so much!”
“Thank god this chapter of this tragedy is over,” said Auburn Mayor Jason Levesque. “We can now move forward and focus on the support the family of the victims and our community needs.”
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said, “We grieve. We remember. Hopefully, we can heal.”
Reacting to the news, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree wrote on X, “We will hold the Mainers lost forever in our hearts as we begin to try to heal and, importantly, work to put an end to the uniquely American gun violence epidemic.”
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said in a statement that President Biden called her to tell her the news about Card. She added they both expressed “profound appreciation for the courage and determination” of the first responders.
“Tonight, Mainers can breathe a collective sigh of relief,” the statement from Collins said.
