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Editor’s note: This is a developing story and will be updated as additional information becomes available.
Law enforcement officials have issued an arrest warrant for a 40-year-old Bowdoin, Maine man who is also a currently serving Army reservist, charged in the multi-location mass shooting Wednesday in Lewiston, Maine that left 18 people dead.
Sgt. 1st Class Robert R. Card II is a petroleum supply specialist in the Army Reserve who enlisted in December 2002, according to Army spokesman Bryce Dubee, who responded to an Army Times query on behalf of the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs, Army headquarters.
Gov. Janet Mills updated the public in a Thursday morning press conference, announcing that 18 people are dead and another 13 wounded after a man opened fire at a bowling alley Wednesday night and then a restaurant in Lewiston.
At the same press conference, Maine State Police Col. William Ross said that seven people died at the bowling alley and eight at the restaurant. Three more people died at local hospitals. As of 11 a.m. Thursday, eight of the deceased had been identified, and officials were working to identify the remaining 10 victims.
Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck stressed that Card was considered “armed and dangerous” and if residents see Card they should not approach him and should instead call the police.
“This is truly a tragedy that goes beyond comprehension,” said Lewiston Police Chief David L. St. Pierre.
Police continue an active manhunt that involves local law enforcement, and state and federal agencies, including the FBI, U.S. Marshals, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Authorities say they are searching for a person of interest who is a trained firearms instructor. Hundreds of law enforcement officers are seeking Robert Card, after the Wednesday night shooting, and a shelter-in-place advisory is in place in an area that includes Maine’s second-largest city and nearby Lisbon.
A police bulletin says Card was a firearms instructor and assigned to a training facility in Saco, Maine. It did not provide details about his treatment or condition.
The document circulated to law enforcement officials, said Card had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks in the summer of 2023. It did not provide details about his treatment or condition but said Card had reported “hearing voices and threats to shoot up” the military base. A telephone number listed for Card in public records was not in service.
Army Times has queried Army officials for confirmation on Card’s duty assignment and whether he served as a firearms instructor. The query also requested information on Card’s duty status and any releasable information regarding his mental health.
Officials have not yet responded to this query.
The 3rd Battalion of the 304th Infantry Regiment, 104th Training Division, 108th Training Command calls Saco, Maine home. That facility is used by the U.S. Army Reserve to train U.S. Military Academy at West Point cadets.
Law enforcement in the Lewiston area have issued “shelter in place” orders as they continue their search.
Card’s awards include the Army Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal x2, Humanitarian Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon. He has no combat deployments.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.