(Lewiston, Maine) Two shootings. Many deaths. Distraught citizens urged to stay home while waiting for the suspect to be located. And an FBI operation at the latter’s home, who allegedly left a suicide note there. Authorities continued their hunt Thursday the day after a tragedy that shook the nation.
The atmosphere in the quaint town of Lewiston was surreal Thursday. We expected to encounter horror and shock at every street corner, but it was dead calm in this Maine town plunged into an unspeakable tragedy. Hordes of journalists from the four corners of the country moved through the deserted streets between closed stores and empty schools.
The ghost town appearance of the place almost made you forget that a manhunt had been going on for 24 hours.
“If you see anything, call the police. Above all, stay at home,” the local radio host repeated over and over again.
The killing, allegedly by Robert Card, left 18 dead and 13 injured, according to a report provided at a press briefing.
Seven people, one woman and six men, lost their lives at the bowling alley, eight in a restaurant about twelve minutes away. Three victims died of their injuries in hospital after being shot in one of the two locations.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE LEWISTON MAINE POLICE DEPARTMENT, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Alleged shooter Robert Card
The 40-year-old suspect, a U.S. Army reservist and certified firearms instructor who struggled with mental health issues, was still actively sought as of late Thursday evening.
Witnesses at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley described how customers hid under tables and in machines at the end of the lanes. “I was lying on top of my daughter, my mother was lying on top of me,” Riley Dumont described to ABC.
Instead of publicly mourning the victims, residents were confined to their homes. For the moment there were no tributes paid to the dead and injured, no flowers, no banners echoing the tragedy.
“We’re stuck at home, and that’s the most stressful thing. We are waiting for the arrest,” summarized Phil Robson, who lives very close to the targeted restaurant-bar that the shooter targeted late Wednesday evening.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Police officer standing guard outside Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston
The suspect is still at large. He is described as “armed and dangerous” and could resurface at any time.
The suspect’s flight was echoed as far as the Canadian-American border. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has launched “an armed and dangerous lookout notice” in its systems “to which all officers have internal access to alert them of the significant risk posed” by the suspect.
The FBI at the suspicious
You have to go to Bowdoin, Robert Card’s hometown located a half-hour drive from the scene of the tragedy, to see the extent of the research. A helicopter hovered over the vast area.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
The suspect was still actively sought late Thursday evening in Bowdoin, not far from Lewiston.
Police were busy on Meadow Road, where the suspect’s family has lived for decades. FBI showed up at suspect’s house, found The Press on the spot. Officers threw sound bombs inside and searched the home. Still no trace of Robert Card, as the sun set. Authorities were searching the home and did not know if the suspect was inside, Maine State Police said on social media.
A suicide note was found there by investigators, the ABC network reported. This missive, addressed to the suspect’s son, would however not specify the motive for the mass shooting that occurred on Wednesday.
A trio of police officers protected the perimeter so as not to interfere with the operation.
The suspect’s parents and other family members live on this street. They are well known in the neighborhood and own a large land.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Richard Goddard lives in the house adjacent to that of the parents of suspect Robert Card.
“They are farmers from father to son. A good, hard-working family. I have nothing bad to say about them,” Richard Goddard said. He occupies the house adjacent to that of Robert Card’s parents.
The killing kept him up last night. No one expects such an event, no one expects to know the author of such an atrocity, believes the neighbor. He remains on the lookout and is surprised that the authorities have still not found the suspect. “He could be here.” He knows this area very well, it’s like his territory. »
He had heard about the suspect’s mental health issues, that he was hearing voices.
“What is it going to take for us to help people who need it? Why do they have access to guns? “, he lamented.
It’s not the guns that are the problem, Mr. Goddard believes. “It’s the people who use them that are the problem. »
” We could avoid this »
Hunter Kassam believes this was a killing that could have been prevented. The sadness and dismay over the event that shook his community was short-lived.
“It’s a shame that this happened, because this could have been avoided. It’s a shame that this man could have easily gotten weapons. I hope the politicians look at this and do something,” said the 27-year-old citizen.
PHOTO ROBERT F. BUKATY, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Miia Zellner captured hearts almost everywhere in the tried municipality.
His partner Miia Zellner, a plastic arts teacher, thinks of the victims. She hung little cardboard hearts all over the city in support of those directly affected when The Press met her in the morning.
“I have difficulty realizing what is happening. We have little information on the victims. Maybe it’s people I know, people I’ve met,” she confided.
With Vincent Larin and Émilie Bilodeau, The Press