FBI operation underway at address in Maine after gunman kills at least 18 in US mass shooting

[EnterpriseSovereign]

FBI operation underway at address in Maine after gunman kills at least 18 in US mass shooting

An FBI operation is underway after a gunman shot at least 18 people dead in the US state of Maine, in what has become the country's deadliest mass shooting in 2023 so far.

Several FBI agents and other heavily armed officers gathered outside a home where several relatives of suspect Robert Card live near Bowdoin.

A military-style vehicle and a white van arrived and moments later someone repeatedly yelled: “FBI! Open the door!”

Loud booms could be heard a few seconds apart as helicopters circled overhead.

The city of Lewiston and towns in Maine have been in lockdown as police pursue the suspect, who opened fire at a bowling alley and bar on Wednesday evening.

Authorities have said that a further 13 people were injured in the attack.

Card, who trained as a firearms instructor at a Maine US Army Reserve training facility, is considered to be "armed and dangerous".

The 40-year-old was committed to a mental health facility for two weeks in the summer of 2023, according to a police bulletin. It came after Card had reported "hearing voices and threats to shoot up" the military base.

An arrest warrant for eight counts of murder has been issued for Card. The counts against him are expected to grow as more victims are identified, Maine State Police Colonel William Ross said.

Mr Ross told a press conference on Thursday that police responded to a "very fast moving, very dangerous scene" on Wednesday evening shortly after 7pm ET (Thursday midnight BST).

He said that seven people were found dead at Just-In-Time Recreation, a bowling alley, and eight at Schemengees Bar and Grille Restaurant.

Maine State Police has urged the public to contact them if they have information on Card's whereabouts.

On Thursday, public schools, offices and a medical centre were closed, while people were told to stay off the streets in Lewiston.

The order was extended on Wednesday night from Lewiston to the town of Lisbon, around eight miles away, after authorities found a "vehicle of interest" nearby.

One man, who escaped the bowling alley after the gunman opened fire and identified himself only as Brandon, said he heard about 10 shots, thinking the first was a balloon popping.

A vehicle police are seeking information on in connection to an active shooter in Lewiston, Maine.

"I had my back turned to the door. And as soon as I turned and saw it was not a balloon - he was holding a weapon - I just booked it," he said.

Brandon said he scrambled down the length of the alley, sliding into the pin area and climbing up to hide in the machinery. He was among a bus load of survivors who were driven to a school in the neighbouring city of Auburn to be reunited with family and friends.

"I was putting on my bowling shoes when when it started. I've been barefoot for five hours," he said.

The bowling alley released a statement saying "none of this seems real, but unfortunately it is".

Just-In-Time Recreation wrote on its Facebook page: "We are devastated for our community and our staff.

"We lost some amazing and whole hearted people from our bowling family and community last night.

"There are no words to fix this or make it better. We are praying for everyone who has been affected by this horrific tragedy. We love you all and hold you close in our hearts."

Wednesday's mass shooting is the latest in a list of 565 reported across the United States this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Nearly one in five US adults have had a family member killed by a gun, including homicides and suicides, according to a 2023 survey from KFF (formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation).

Around the same proportion of adults have been personally threatened with a gun, and one in six adults has witnessed an injury from a shooting, the survey found.

[Solauren]

First - shooting up a BOWLING ALLEY of all things?

Next - the stats on Mass shootings and gun crime effects are compelling. That almost seems like the US is at war with it's own mentally ill.

And I think the US is LOSING that.

[LadyTevar]

Robert Card, shooting suspect, found dead

CNN
—
A US Army reservist accused of killing 18 people and injuring 13 others in a shooting rampage in Maine this week was found dead Friday evening – apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot – after a two-day manhunt, a state official said.

Robert Card, accused of committing Wednesday’s massacre at a bowling alley and a restaurant in Lewiston, Maine, was found dead around 7:45 p.m. Friday near the Androscoggin River in the Lisbon Falls area, some 10 miles Lewiston, state Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck told reporters.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills said she is “breathing a sigh of relief tonight knowing that … Card is no longer a threat to anyone.”

“Now is a time to heal,” Mills, who said Maine State Police found the body, told reporters at the news conference. “Tonight, the city of Lewiston and the state of Maine begin to move forward on a long road to healing.”

Card’s body was found in an area near a recycling center from which he had recently been fired, a law enforcement source told CNN. Earlier this week, authorities had found Card’s vehicle abandoned after the shooting near a boat launch in the Lisbon area.

Details about when Card died still were being investigated, Sauschuck said, and authorities haven’t announced a motive in the shooting. Authorities intend to release more information Saturday morning about Card and the investigation, they said.

That is, unfortunately, how I figured this would end up. It will be interesting to know when he shot himself, if it was prior to Friday.
I really don't see them finding a motive for any of the murders.