World·Updated
Police asked thousands of Maine residents to stay in their homes Friday as hundreds of heavily armed police and FBI agents searched for a second day for Robert Card, an Army reservist authorities say fatally shot 18 people at a bowling alley and bar in the worst mass killing in state history.
Divers to search river near boat launch where suspect’s car found
The Associated Press
· Posted: Oct 27, 2023 9:26 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago
The hunt for the gunman connected to the killings of 18 people in Lewiston, Maine, continued Friday. Above, law enforcement officials are seen in Monmouth, Maine, on Friday morning. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Police asked thousands of Maine residents to stay in their homes Friday as hundreds of heavily armed police and FBI agents searched for a second day for Robert Card, an Army reservist authorities say fatally shot 18 people at a bowling alley and bar in the worst mass killing in state history.
Nearly two days after the shooting, police have given no indication that they have any leads about the suspect’s whereabouts.
During a lengthy news conference absent of any major developments, Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck would only say that authorities are leaving all their options open.
Law enforcement officers gather outside Schemengees Bar and Grille on Friday in the aftermath of a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, that left 18 people dead and 13 injured. (Matt Rourke/The Associated Press)
“We’re going to be all over the place,” Sauschuck said. “That’s not saying that we know that the individual is in this house, you know, in that house or they’re in that swath of land, this acreage.”
Previously, police had said that Card had left his car at a boat ramp in the town of Lisbon, Maine, shortly after the shootings Wednesday evening. Sauschuck said Friday that authorities were going to conduct extensive searches of the nearby Androscoggin River by air and boat, and that a utility was using its dams to lower the river in the area, but he made it clear that would not be their only area of focus.
‘This is his stomping ground’
Much of Thursday’s search focused on a large property belonging to one of Card’s relatives in rural Bowdoin, where trucks and vans full of armed agents from the FBI and other agencies eventually surrounded a home. Concerned locals said Card could have the upper hand in navigating the rural, wooded area.
A police officer questions a driver at a roadblock on Thursday in Lisbon, Maine, during a manhunt for the suspect of Wednesday’s mass shootings. (Robert F. Bukaty/The Associated Press)
Richard Goddard, who lives on the road where the search took place, knows the Card family. Robert Card knows the terrain well, Goddard said.
“This is his stomping ground. He grew up here,” he said. “He knows every ledge to hide behind, every thicket.”
Card is suspected of opening fire with at least one rifle at a bar and a bowling alley Wednesday in Lewiston, Maine, which is Maine’s second-largest city. The evening shootings killed 18 people and wounded 13 others, with three people still hospitalized in critical condition, authorities said.
Some victims identified
Sauschuck said Friday that eight of the 18 deceased victims have been identified and their families notified.
The victims include Bob Violette, 76, a retiree who was coaching a youth bowling league and was described as devoted, approachable and kind.
Auburn city councillor Leroy Walker told media outlets that his son, Joe, a manager at the bar and grille, died going after the shooter with a butcher knife.
Peyton Brewer-Ross was a dedicated pipefitter at Bath Iron Works whose death leaves a gaping void in the lives of his partner, young daughter and friends, members of his union said.
Police asked residents to continue to stay home in Lewiston and nearby communities Friday. Schools, public buildings and many businesses remained closed. Bates College in Lewiston cancelled classes Friday and postponed the inauguration of the school’s first Black president.
In nearby Sabattus, Maine, cashiers at a gas station told their customers “have a good day and go home.”
Authorities acknowledged the difficulty of having residents stay home a second day, but Lewiston Police Chief David St. Pierre asked for patience and promised they were constantly evaluating the request.
>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : CBC News – https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/maine-shooting-search-1.7010113?cmp=rss
