Following a three-day manhunt, authorities say the guy who was suspected of killing eighteen people in a shooting in Maine has been discovered dead.
The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook, stating, “The suspect in Wednesday night’s shootings has been located and is deceased.”
The announcement was made hours after the normally quiet community’s shelter-in-place order was revoked by the police.
Four deaf people, ages 14 to 76, a gifted young bowler, and a grandfather are among the deceased.
Robert Card, 40, died at an unknown location, and it is unknown how he passed away.
Maine Governor Janet Mills announced during a press conference at Lewiston City Hall that the corpse was discovered close to the scene of the incident.
““I’m breathing a sigh of relief tonight knowing that Robert Card will not be a threat to anyone,” she stated.
Not only was Lewiston Police Chief David St Pierre “elated” by the news, but he also stated that “our work is not done here”.
“We’re gonna grieve for the families that lost loved ones, were gonna continue to work, we’re gonna persevere and we’re gonna become better people for it,” he said.
According to Michael Sauschuck, the commissioner of public safety for Maine, the body was discovered Friday night at 19:45 local time close to a river in Lisbon Falls.
He claimed that a lot of the information is being kept secret because the police would prefer to first talk to the victims’ families.
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On Saturday, a second news conference is planned for 10:00EDT/15:00GMT.
The 18 victims’ names were all given by police earlier on Friday.
The state “can breathe a collective sigh of relief thanks to the brave first responders who worked night and day to find this killer,” according to Senator Susan Collins of Maine.
She also mentioned that she had received a call earlier on Friday from President Joe Biden informing her of the suspect’s passing.
NBC had been informed by the suspect’s sister-in-law that the family is “doing everything we can to help law enforcement”.
Katie Card, who is married to the gunman’s brother, stated, “Our hearts are broken”.
In the tiny hamlet of Lewiston, there was an incident on Wednesday night at a pub and a bowling alley.
Two venues, a bowling alley called Just-In-Time Recreation and a restaurant named Schemengees, approximately four miles (6.5 km) apart, had been the subject of reports of gunfire.
Three were declared dead at nearby hospitals, eight at Schemengees Bar and Grille, and seven at the bowling alley.
A virtual vigil was held on Zoom on Friday night by members of the deaf community in the area who were highly moved by the tragedy, prior to the word that Card had been located.
Almost one hundred individuals who are hard of hearing and deaf nationwide participated.
“There are no signs or words to express what we are all going through,” introduced the moderator, Terry Morrell.
He remarked, “We lost four beloved deaf people, and two more deaf people were injured.”
“We are all grieving, we are all in shock, we’re angry, we’re numb,” he stated.
BBC
