(Lewiston) A paranoid, conspiracy theorist who possibly heard voices: the portrait of the alleged author of the Lewiston killings, Robert Card, is becoming clearer.
“The individual had the impression that everyone was talking about him,” explained Michael Sauschuck, the commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, at a press briefing Saturday morning.
“We think that’s what pushed him to go to those two locations specifically,” he added of the bowling alley and bar-restaurant where the suspect opened fire Wednesday evening. The tragedy left 18 people aged between 14 and 76 dead and 13 injured, three of whom are still hospitalized in intensive care.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
City of Lisbon Police Chief Ryan McGee at a press conference at Lewiston City Hall.
The suspect was found Friday evening about twenty kilometers from the tragedy after a two-day manhunt which forced the confinement of citizens in a large area. Robert Card allegedly killed himself with his firearm.
Authorities revealed Saturday morning that he was found in an 18-wheel trailer located in a parking lot adjacent to Maine Recycling, where Card once worked. He had two weapons with him. A third long-type weapon was found in his vehicle, a white Subaru, which he had abandoned.
It was the owner of the business located in the nearby village of Lisbon Falls who encouraged police to search the business’s grounds and trailers filled with recyclable materials.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
The police are still analyzing and collecting evidence in the Schemengees bar in Lewiston where Robert Card, the alleged perpetrator of the massacre in Lewiston, Maine, which left 18 dead and 13 injured.
Commissioner Sauschuck clarified that he was wearing the same clothes as in the video images captured during the shooting. It is impossible, for the moment, to know how long he had been dead. “It’s the autopsy that will reveal it,” Mr. Sauschuck said.
The police also revealed the contents of the letter that Robert Card had left behind at his residence.
“It was a paper type note, I’m not going to read it to you […], but basically it’s a note to his family giving his phone password and bank account number. I wouldn’t explicitly describe it as a suicide note, but the tone and tenor is that this individual would soon be no longer here,” Commissioner Sauschuck said.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
The Franco center welcomes the families of the victims of the tragedy.
Despite the discovery of the suspect, the investigation continues on Saturday at several scenes. Police received 821 tips from the public which they are still analyzing. Twelve search warrants were executed.
A vigil in memory of the deceased will take place on Sunday evening. Two psychological help centers opened their doors on Saturday, the first for people present during the shootings and the other for the entire population.