Authorities were unable to say at this stage when the suspect took his own life – His vehicle was also found near his body
The manhunt in Maine ended: the alleged perpetrator of this year’s worst massacre and one of the deadliest in recent years in the US (18 dead) was found dead Friday night after, according to initial police reports, he shot himself, authorities announced.
“He’s dead (…) Maine State Police located the body,” he said Governor Janet Millsduring a press conference, marking the end of 48 hours of intensive investigations, stress and confinement of the residents of the city of Lewiston.
Robert Card, 40, an Army reservist, appears to have committed suicide with a gun, according to Maine Public Safety Official Michael Sosak.
Authorities were unable to say at this stage when the suspect took his own life.
On Wednesday night, armed with a semiautomatic rifle, the man opened fire inside a bowling alley in Lewiston and, about 10 minutes later, in a restaurant-bar in the city of 36,000, killing 18 people and wounding 13 others.
His body was found near a river in Lisbon Falls, about twenty minutes from Lewiston, yesterday Friday around 19:45 (local time; today at 02:45 Greek time). His vehicle was located in the same area.
In the evening in Lisbon Falls, roads leading to the Androscoggin River were blocked by the police, an AFP correspondent found.
“Tonight, the people of Maine can breathe a collective sigh of relief,” commented via X (the former Twitter) of state senator Susan Collins, clarifying that she was notified by President Joe Biden that “the perpetrator of the heinous attacks in Lewiston has been found.”
Yesterday evening, as the manhunt continued, the authorities announced the lifting of restrictive measures for residents, warning that the situation remained “dangerous” and calling on them to remain “vigilant”.
Heavy reckoning
Seven people died in the bowling alley, another eight in the restaurant, while three injured succumbed to a hospital where they were treated. The victims were between 14 and 76 years old. Among them a father and son, aged 44 and 14, and a couple aged 73 and 76.
The deaf education center, based on a small island 45 minutes’ drive south of Lewiston, was hit particularly hard: Among the dead at the Schemengees bar and Grille were four people associated with the educational institution—former students, faculty members and relatives, the foundation’s director, Karen Hopkins, explained to AFP.
The four had met on Wednesday night to participate in a game of cornhole, a popular American game, he added.
Wednesday’s massacre was the worst in the US since the one at a school in Uvalde, Texas. where a teenager murdered 19 young children and two teachers in May 2022.
Condemning the “tragic” and “senseless” act, President Joe Biden once again called on Congress to adopt an “assault rifle ban.” There is no chance of anything like that being done, the majority to push for legislative change in this direction has been missing for decades now.
Americans don’t deserve to live like this,” he emphasized last night in a press release released by his services at the White House, referring to “two dramatic days.”
The US is paying an extremely heavy price for the widespread proliferation of weapons on its soil and the ease with which Americans can gain access to them. The country has more guns (some 400 million) than residents, one in three adults owns at least one gun, and nearly one in two lives in a household with at least one gun.
A consequence of their proliferation is the extremely high rate of deaths due to violent incidents with the use of weapons in the US, which bears no comparison with those in other economically developed countries.
Not even counting suicides, more than 15,000 people have been killed by bullets in the country this year, according to the numbers of the specialist website Gun Violence Archive.
Maine, however, has one of the lowest homicide rates in the country. Wednesday’s 18 deaths are, according to the non-governmental organization Everytown for gun safety, a figure that exceeds the annual average of gun homicides there.
State authorities have so far made no assessment of the motives of the perpetrator of the massacre. He reportedly had a history of mental illness and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for two weeks over the summer before being discharged.
The body of Robert Card was found a short distance from a recycling center where he worked until his recent dismissal.
Source :Skai
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