(Lewiston) Hundreds of police officers, a plane, divers and underwater robots: the hunt to find — dead or alive — the suspect in the Lewiston killings continued all day Friday, without success. The authorities nevertheless decided to lift the confinement order as of Saturday.
“We ask citizens to remain vigilant,” said Michael Sauschuck, commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, during a press conference at the end of the day.
During this press briefing, authorities also officially revealed the identity and photo of the 18 people who died during shootings that occurred Wednesday evening at a bowling alley and a bar-restaurant.
“Like many of our officers, I know some of the victims personally and I can tell you that it is very difficult,” said Lewiston Police Chief David St. Pierre.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Authorities released photos of all the victims of the killing Friday evening during a press briefing.
Fifteen men, a teenager and two women lost their lives in the tragedy. A father and son, an elderly couple, fathers and four people from the deaf community are among the victims.
U.S. authorities also released a sheet to describe suspect Robert Card, 40, an Army reservist standing 5’11” and weighing 230 lbs.
Intensive research in water
Throughout the day, the searches were mainly concentrated in the Androscoggin River, a watercourse located a few kilometers from the city.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
The search continues near the Androscoggin River.
The car of Robert Card, 40, had been located earlier in the city of Lisbon, around twenty kilometers from the scene of the tragedy and near the river.
Police did not say what they were looking for in the water, but earlier in the day authorities revealed a letter was found in a home where the suspect lived.
“I am not going to give details on the content of this note,” said Commissioner Sauschuck during a press briefing which took place in the morning. According to several American media, it was a note written by Robert Card intended for his loved ones. He would explain how to dispose of his property in case he disappeared. This would lead the authorities to believe that the alleged murderer took his own life.
Intense searches are still planned at other crime scenes. The locations will not be accessible in the coming days, despite the lifting of the lockdown.
“A lot of different places are searched, we look for places where the suspect could be. Our presence does not necessarily mean that he is there,” said Michael Sauschuck.
“A phenomenal amount of law enforcement personnel, time and effort are being deployed around the clock” to find the main suspect, added Chief St. Pierre.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Alleged shooter Robert Card
“Lewiston Strong”
Due to the shooter’s escape, residents were ordered to confine themselves to their homes, transforming Lewiston, a town of 36,000 residents, into a ghost town.
Schools and businesses closed their doors and the high school parking lot was taken over by police officers in fatigues, armed to the teeth.
In the city center, Jeremy Hiltz hung a “Lewiston Strong” banner on the front of a business, as a show of support for the victims.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
A poster to support the community was erected near the hospital.
Residents now live “with a feeling of vulnerability that I don’t think we were aware of” before the tragedy, explains this Lewiston resident.
Nation “in mourning”
“It’s a dark day for Maine,” Janet Mills, the state’s governor, declared Thursday morning, announcing the very heavy toll.
Joe Biden deplored a “tragic and senseless” act and ordered the flags on federal buildings to be lowered to half-mast.
“Once again, our nation is in mourning,” lamented the American president, calling on Congress to adopt “a ban on assault weapons” — yet another call of its kind by the Democrat, despite a majority not found for decades for such a change in legislation.
PHOTO ANDROSCOGGIN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE BY AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A photo released by police shows a man dressed in a brown top entering the establishment, semi-automatic rifle in shoulder position.
Wednesday’s killing is the worst in the United States since that of the Uvalde school in Texas, where a shooter killed 19 children and two teachers in May 2022.
The country is paying a very heavy price for the spread of firearms on its territory and the ease with which Americans have access to them.
The United States has more individual weapons than people. Excluding suicides, more than 15,000 people have died in gun violence since the start of the year in the country, according to the Gun Violence Archive (GVA).
Maine is one of the states with the lowest per capita homicide rate, and Wednesday’s 18 deaths are, according to the Everytown Association, more than the annual average of gun homicides in the state .
With Agence France-Presse