'The threat is over': Maine shootings suspect found dead

LEWISTON, Maine (NewsNation) — Robert Card, the man suspected of killing 18 people and injuring 13 more in two Maine shootings, is dead, investigators confirmed Friday evening.

Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck said Card’s body was discovered at 7:45 p.m. Friday near the Androscoggin River in Lisbon Falls. He died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Sauschuck reported. Maine Gov. Janet Mills said state police found the body.

“I’m breathing a sigh of relief tonight knowing that Robert Card is no longer a threat to anyone,” Mills said.

Police teams had already searched a recycling center in Maine twice before eventually finding the body of the man suspected of killing 18 people in Lewiston was found, authorities said Saturday.

Department of Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck said the teams that scoured the Maine Recycling Corp. property, including a tactical team, on Thursday night. He said another state police team returned the site Friday and found Robert Card’s body in a location that hadn’t been searched.

At a press conference Saturday, Sauschuck also said Card’s family called investigators to provide his name to law enforcement soon after police released surveillance pictures of the shooter.

“This family has been incredibly cooperative with us,” Sauschuck said. “Truth be told the first three people that called us … were family members.”

Card has been sought since Wednesday, when investigators say the suspect entered two separate Lewiston businesses — Schemengees Bar and Just-in-Time Recreation — and opened fire, killing and injuring multiple people.

Investigators were able to identify Card through vehicle registration after his white Subaru was discovered near the Lisbon boat dock.

Hundreds of local, state and federal law enforcement members searched tirelessly for Card, as Maine residents were under a shelter-in-place order that has since been lifted.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland thanked law enforcement for their work to find Card and help impacted communities.

“Although we are grateful that the suspect in this case no longer poses a threat, we know that nothing can bring back the lives he stole or undo the terror he inflicted,” Garland shared in a statement.

He continued: “The FBI will continue to provide victim support resources to those who have been devastated by this attack, and the entire Justice Department will provide ongoing support to our state and local law enforcement partners.”

The Maine State Police issued a warrant for Card’s arrest Thursday on eight counts of murder. More counts were expected to be handed down.

According to information from Maine State Police’s Maine Information and Analysis Center, Card was trained as a firearms instructor at a U.S. Army Reserve training facility in the state.

He was recently reported to have had mental health issues, including hearing voices and threatening to shoot up the military training facility, according to the Maine State Police bulletin. He was also reported to have been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks during the summer of 2023.

Investigators said they were looking into why the suspect was allowed to own a weapon, given his mental health history.

Lewiston Police Chief David St. Pierre said while he was “elated” to hear the news that Card is no longer a threat; he thinks now is the time to focus on healing.

“I don’t want to forget the families that are grieving and will continue to grieve,” St. Pierre said.

The Maine Department of Public Safety identified the victims of the shootings as: