The manhunt is over in Maine. The suspect in one of the worst killings in recent years in the United States, with at least 18 dead, was found dead Friday evening after having probably committed suicide with a gun.
“Maine State Police have located the body,” Maine Governor Janet Mills said during a press conference late Friday evening, signaling the end of two days of anguish and confinement for residents there. small town of Lewiston. Robert Card, 40, an Army reservist, appears to have committed suicide with a gun, according to Maine Public Safety Officer Michael Sauschuck.
Body found near river
Authorities said they were unable to say when the suspect ended his life. Wednesday evening, armed with a semi-automatic rifle, this man opened fire in a bowling alley in Lewinston, then around ten minutes later, in a bar-restaurant in this town of 36,000 inhabitants, killing 18 people and leaving 13 wounded.
The body of Robert Card was found at 7:45 p.m. (1:45 a.m. French time) near a river in Lisbon Falls, about twenty minutes from the town of Lewiston where the killing took place. His car was found nearby. In the evening in Lisbon Falls, roads leading to the Androscoggin River were blocked by police, according to an AFP journalist.
“A sigh of relief”
“Tonight, the people of Maine can breathe a sigh of relief,” reacted on X (formerly Twitter) Maine Senator Susan Collins, who said she had been warned by Joe Biden “that the author of these abominable attacks in Lewiston had been found.”
The United States has experienced “two tragic days,” US President Joe Biden said in a statement. “I will continue to do everything in my power to end this epidemic of gun violence. The Lewiston community – and all Americans – deserve nothing less,” he added. Seven people lost their lives in the bowling alley, eight in the bar-restaurant and three injured people died in hospital. The victims ranged in age from 14 to 76 years old. Among them, a father and his son aged 44 and 14, and a couple aged 73 and 76.