Robert Card, Maine Shooting Suspect, Found Dead

Robert Card, the man suspected of fatally shooting 18 people and wounding 13 others in Lewiston, Maine, has been found dead.

Maine Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck said Card died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

"Like many people, I'm breathing a sigh of relief tonight knowing that Robert Card is no longer a threat to anyone," Maine Governor Janet Mills, a Democrat, said during a Friday night press conference.

An anonymous law enforcement official first broke the news of Card's death to the Associated Press before the Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office confirmed he was dead. In a Facebook post, the department said the suspect in the shootings had "been located and is deceased."

Card was the lone suspect in Wednesday's deadly shootings at a bowling alley and a bar. According to information released by the Maine State Police, Card was a trained firearms instructor believed to be in the U.S. Army Reserve stationed in Saco, Maine.

Authorities said Card had recently reported suffering from mental health issues, including hearing voices and threatening to shoot up the National Guard Base in Saco. Card was also reportedly admitted into a mental health facility for two weeks in the summer, but a police document did not provide details of the treatment he received or his condition.

The manhunt for Card involved hundreds of law enforcement agents—including members of the FBI—and resulted in residents of Lewiston and the surrounding area being warned to stay inside their homes as Card was considered armed and dangerous.

Along with searching for Card in woods and around property owned by his relatives, authorities sent dive teams to look for him in the waters of a local river. Authorities in Canada, which borders Maine, had also been monitoring the situation while police searched for Card. Lewiston is around three and a half hours from the Canadian border.

Sauschuck declined to provide an exact address of where Card's body was found when asked by a reporter, but he said Card was found at 7:45 pm local time near the Androscoggin River.

Mills said during the press conference that President Joe Biden had been informed of Card's death.

"Now is the time to heal," Mills said. "With this search concluded, I know that law enforcement continues to fully investigate all the facts so we can bring what closure we can to the victims and their families."

Update 10/27/23 10:35 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to include more information.