Police officers block a road while searching a home on Meadow Road in Bowdoin, Maine, on October 26, 2023.
Salwan Georges | The Washington Post | Getty Images
Authorities in Maine released the names of the 18 victims killed in a mass shooting at a bowling alley and bar in the city of Lewiston on Friday, as the massive search for the suspect continues into a second day.
The names of the 18 victims were read out during a press conference on Friday evening. After the reading, a minute’s silence was observed. They were between 14 and 76 years old.
Robert Card, 40, of Bowdoin, Maine, is wanted for multiple murders. Card is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached under any circumstances, police said.
Authorities have lifted the curfew but asked the public to remain vigilant in the search for Card.
The 18 people who died in the Lewiston shooting
- Joseph Lawrence Walker, 57
- Michael R. Deslauriers II, 51
- William Frank Brackett, 48
Police are searching neighborhoods, combing the woods and dive teams are searching the Androscoggin River near a boat launch where Card’s white Subaru was found.
Police officers have received more than 530 tips and tips from the public, said Mike Sauschuck, Maine’s public safety commissioner.
Sauschuck was asked Friday if he feared the lead could dry up as Card remains at large and the search continues into a second day.
“Every minute this happens, we become more and more concerned,” Sauschuck told reporters at a briefing. “That’s why we’re working around the clock to bring this individual to justice and provide some lockdown and general safety in our communities.”
Card is a qualified firearms instructor and sergeant first class in the Army Reserve, where he serves as a petroleum supply specialist. According to the US Department of Defense, he has no recorded combat missions.
As recently as this summer, Card was suffering from mental health issues, law enforcement and Defense Department officials told NBC News. His Army superiors sent him to a residential facility in July after he claimed he heard voices and made threats against the base. There, Card received psychiatric treatment for two weeks and then was released, officials said.
In this image from video released by the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office, a gunman enters Just-In-Time Recreation in Lewiston, Maine, on October 25, 2023.
Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office via AP
The rifle used by the shooter was purchased legally this year, law enforcement told NBC News.
Police said a gunman opened fire at the bowling alley at Just-in-Time Recreation and Schemenges Bar and Grille Wednesday night, killing seven people at the bowling alley and eight people at the bar. Three people were later pronounced dead in hospital. The two companies are approximately 12 minutes away from each other by car.
Police officers gather on the street leading to the home of the suspect wanted in connection with two mass shootings in Bowdoin, Maine, on Oct. 26, 2023.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
The mass shootings have reignited America’s long-standing but politically stalled debate over gun control.
President Joe Biden on Thursday urged Republican lawmakers to work with Democrats to pass a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, implement universal background checks and require the safe storage of firearms.
Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, announced Thursday that he would support an assault weapons ban after previously opposing such a ban. Golden represents the congressional district that includes Lewiston.
“I ask for forgiveness and support as I seek to put an end to these horrific shootings,” Golden told reporters at a news conference Thursday evening.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, demurred when asked whether she would support a ban on assault weapons following the shooting. Collins said a ban on high-capacity magazines would be more effective.
A ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines has virtually no chance of passing Congress because most Republicans who control the House of Representatives strongly oppose gun control.
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