Shooting in Lewiston, Maine LIVE: suspect Robert Card found dead

Who are the victims ? Bob and Lucy Violette were tragically killed in Wednesday’s attacks

Bob Violette, a 76-year-old retired Sears mechanic and bowling enthusiast, was identified by his daughter-in-law Cassandra as one of the victims, she told the Portland Press Herald.

Mr. Violette, who was originally from Lewiston and ran a youth bowling league, was reportedly killed while trying to protect the children he was responsible for Wednesday night.

He and his wife Lucy were avid bowlers, having started the youth bowling league at Sparetime Recreation, for which Mr. Violette was recently inducted into the Maine Bowling Hall of Fame.

“He wouldn’t let you walk through the door without giving him a hug and a kiss on the check.” He was there for everything,” Cassandra said.

She said he had a special bond with his grandchildren and was a devoted husband to his wife Lucy, who was injured in the shooting. However, his condition is unknown.

“His first thought every day was her,” Cassandra added.

It was later confirmed that Lucy Violette had also died following the shooting, during Friday’s press conference.

How did Robert Card get from place to place?

• The two locations of the shooting – the bowling alley and the restaurant – are just four miles apart, or a 10-minute drive, in Lewiston, Maine.
• Hours after reporting active shooting, police located a white Suburu station wagon belonging to Card near a boat landing in Lisbon. The vehicle contained a long gun.
• Card’s body was found in a box trailer in the Maine Recycling Corporation overflow lot.
• Police said there is a “natural connection” between the landing stage and the recycling plant via a footpath.
• Details have yet to be ironed out, but officials said Saturday morning that there was no evidence to suggest Card did anything other than walk along the trail that connected the two locations.

Two firearms were recovered at the scene and a third firearm – a long gun – was recovered in a white Subaru station wagon, which authorities had identified as belonging to Card on Wednesday evening. The “vehicle of interest” was found at a landing stage in Lisbon.

In addition to the recycling business owner who called police, Sauschuck also revealed that three family members had “positively identified” Card after photos emerged of him brandishing what appeared to be a type weapon. AR-15. These weapons were “legally purchased,” police said.

Resources have been put in place for victims and those traumatized by the shooting

The consequences: what we know

The body of Maine shooting suspect Robert Card was found at a recycling center after a tip from the owner prompted police to search it for a third time.

Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck held a news conference Saturday morning to provide new details on the discovery of the suspected shooter’s body following a multi-day manhunt after 18 people were killed and 13 injured in Lewiston.

The owner allegedly said “this individual knows the property” and urged authorities to examine trailers in the overflow lot, Mr. Sauschuck said.

WATCH: Maine Democrat reverses position on gun laws after tragedy erupts this week

After identifying Robert Card as the “person of interest,” the sheriff’s office released photos of him for identification. He could be seen in the footage wearing brown clothing and brandishing a high-powered assault rifle.

Law enforcement also released a photo of the vehicle under investigation – a white compact SUV with a black-painted front bumper. It was a car that Maine State Police confirmed belonged to the shooter.

Card, 40, served as a firearms instructor in the U.S. Army Reserve.

As a Sgt 1st Class and petroleum supply specialist, he joined the group in 2002 and had no combat deployments.

He recently disclosed mental health issues, citing auditory hallucinations including hearing voices and threats to shoot up the National Guard base in Saco, according to a Maine law enforcement bulletin viewed by the Associated Press.

He was also committed to a psychiatric health facility for two weeks during the summer of 2023. Card’s family members revealed their shock, with the 40-year-old’s sister-in-law saying The daily beast that they are “shaken” by the news.

“I’ve known Rob my whole life.” Card said Thursday. “He is quiet but he is the most loving, hardworking and kind person I know. But over the past year, he had an acute mental health episode, and it was a struggle.

She said her brother-in-law started wearing hearing aids and was sure he could hear people talking about him at both shooting sites.

“He really thought he heard people saying things,” she said. “All of this has happened over the last few months.”

John Miller, CNN’s chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, described the weapon as an AR15-style rifle with a possible scope. He noted that the shooter was wearing blue tactical pants with “bulging” pockets, suggesting the possibility that he was carrying additional ammunition.

The suspect’s publications on social networks: revealed

The suspect showed an interest in right-wing pundits and politics on X, formerly Twitter, before his account was deleted by the company.

He liked posts from Elon Musk, Donald Trump Jr, Tucker Carlson and Jordan Peterson. It appeared to focus on content expressing anti-trans views, as well as gun rights, the coronavirus and the economy.

Liking a post does not necessarily mean agreeing with the content, and there is no indication that it was a political attack.

The suspect’s account on Heavy.com before it is deleted by the platform, in accordance with its policy. This account’s profile photo appears to match photographs posted by law enforcement.

In March, he liked a tweet from Trump Jnr which said:

“Given the incredible increase in trans/non-binary mass shooters in recent years…by far the largest group as a percentage of the population…perhaps, rather than talking about guns, we should Talk about crazy people pushing their gender-affirming bulls**t on our children?

Mike Bedigan has the whole story…

Details emerge after suspected shooter’s death, showing family helped identify Robert Card

Police previously said that shortly after photos of the alleged shooter were made public — which were released just an hour after a 911 call of the first shooting — the Lewiston Police Department received a call identifying the man in the photos as Card, 40 years old.

Hours after Card was found dead of an apparent suicide following a days-long manhunt, authorities confirmed that his family members had identified him in the photos.

“This family has been incredibly cooperative,” Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck said at a news conference Saturday morning.

Scenes from Lewiston in the aftermath of the shooting