LEWISTON, MAINE – The mass murderer in Maine wrote a note to a loved one with his phone’s passcode and bank account before he was found dead about a mile away from his abandoned car.
Robert Card indiscriminately opened fire with a semiautomatic assault rifle inside a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, killing at least 18 people and injuring 13 more.
Maine Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck said the paper note he left behind wasn’t “an explicit suicide note, but the tone and tenor was that the individual was not going to be around.”
Two nights after the shooting – around 7:45 p.m. Friday – law enforcement found Card dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside one of about 55 to 60 metal trailers in a recycling center’s overflow parking lot.
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The Lewiston Maine Police Department released a photo Robert Card, who was seen wearing a brown sweatshirt. (Lewiston Maine Police Department)
His body and two guns were found inside one of the unlocked trailers, which are essentially long, rectangular metal boxes packed with waste and other garbage in the recycling center’s overflow lot, Sauschuck said on Saturday.
An ATF agent said Card legally purchased all the recovered guns “somewhat recently.”
The lot where Card was found is separated from the main facility by a street and is northwest and out of the way from the main building, Sauschuck said, so police didn’t search the trailers after they cleared the facility twice before.
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“We’re not just talking about a small area. I’m talking large industrial park,” said Libson Police Chief Ryan McGee, who was one of the first officers on scene when they found Card’s body.
But the “diligent” owner of the facility sent another tip to law enforcement about these trailers in a lot across Capitol Avenue, which is considered the recycling center’s property, and prompted a law enforcement third visit – and the first to this lot, Sauschuck said.
General view of Maine Recycling Corporation in Lisbon, Maine, Saturday, October 28, 2023. Robert Card, the suspect in the mass shootings of Wednesday night was found dead here with an apparent self-inflicted gun-shot wound last night. (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)
Robert Card, the Maine mass murderer, was found dead with a self inflicted gunshot wound in a trailer lot (in red) that’s part of the recycling center (in yellow) Friday night. (Google Street View)
“So then the follow-up is with the tactical team commanders to say, okay, tell me exactly where you were they are,” said Sauschuck, referring to his conversation with the business owner.
“We didn’t clear those. Let’s go back. So the Maine State Police tactical team ultimately were the ones that located the body within one of those trailers.”
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Exactly when Card died is still under investigation, and that could take time, Sauschuck said.
The location of the overflow lot is along a direct route that runs along the Androscoggin River and is less than a mile away from where law enforcement found Card’s abandoned Subaru at a boat launch.
Robert Card abandoned his car at a boat launch after Wednesday’s mass shooting and found in a trailer in a recycling center’s overflow lot less than a mile away on Friday. (Google Street View)
Robert Card was found in one of these trailers in a recycling center’s overflow flow that’s across the street and disconnected from the main building. (Google Street View)
The owner’s tip was one of more than 820 tips and leads law enforcement received since Wednesday’s shooting.
Police chased down every potential lead and treated the tip as if Card would be there and responded in force, including armored trucks and heavily armed law enforcement officers.
Fox News Digital followed police and watched several searches from a handful of these tips.
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One was a potential sighting that ended up being a man with a similar look just getting his mail. Another ended up being construction noise behind a business.
One resident on a dead end street told Fox News Digital that he called police to tell them he owns an unlocked, detached shed and small building on property across the street from his home that is accessible from the abandoned car.
Robert Card, the alleged person of interest in the Lewiston, Maine shootings. (Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office)
“I wanted to make sure no one was inside any of my properties before I locked it up,” the owner told Fox News Digital on Friday.
He wanted to remain anonymous because Card was still considered to be on the loose at that time.
Remembering the victims
Law enforcement held several press briefings Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Throughout the briefings, the victims were always present.
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Pictures and their names were on a screen behind Sauschuck. If he, or the speaker, needed to show a graphic or map, they switched it back to the victims’ pictures.
Of the 13 injured, three remain in critical condition, Sauschuck said Saturday morning.
Lewiston, ME – October 27: Commissioner Mike Sauschuck speaks to members of the media during a press conference at Lewiston City Hall on Friday. The search for the Maine man suspected of fatally shooting 18 people in Lewiston Wednesday night, and wounding 13 more, entered its third day on Friday as much of Central Maine remains in lockdown. (Erin Clark/Globe Staff via Getty Images) (Erin Clark/Globe Staff via Getty Images)
On Friday, the 18 victims who lost their lives were released.
The youngest was 14 and the oldest was 76:
Ronald Morin, 55
Peyton Brewer-Ross, 40
Joshua A. Seal, 36
Bryan M MacFarlane, 41
Joseph Lawrence Walker, 57
Arthur Fred Strout, 42
Maxx A. Hathaway, 35
Stephen M. Vozzella, 45
Thomas Ryan Conrad, 34
Michael R. Deslauriers II, 51
Jason Adam Walker, 51
Tricia C. Asselin, 53
William A. Young, 44
Aaron Young, 14
Robert E. Violette, 76
Lucille M. Violette, 73
William Frank Brackett, 48
Keith D. Macneir, 64
The Maine Medical Examiner (The Maine Medical Examiner)
Counseling for victims who suffered physical injuries or were traumatized is set up in a private setting. The city is also offering help for anyone in area who has been impacted.
“(Card) is dead. We Know where he’s located,” Sauschuck said. “We can start working with our victims.”
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And he said that includes Card’s family. At least three of family members were the first people to ID Card, he said.
“Realistically, right now we should only be really thinking about the victims,” he said Saturday morning. “That’s also the suspect’s family as well.They were very forthcoming to law enforcement.”
Fox News Digital attempted to speak to family multiple times, but they declined all comments.
