Police are frantically searching for a gunman in Maine after a killing spree left at least 16 dead and many more injured.
Police said they are looking for 40-year-old Robert Card in connection to the shootings as residents in Lewiston and Lisbon are being asked to shelter in place. Card is a certified firearms instructor and a member of the US army reserve and had recently made threats to shoot up a National Guard base, police said.
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The shootings began shortly before 7 p.m. at a bowling alley and then at a bar and grill in Lewiston, Maine. Roughly an hour later, police released surveillance camera photos of the active shooter, showing a man holding an assault rifle. The suspect has short brown hair and was wearing a brown hoodie and black pants.
“We are encouraging all businesses to lock down and or close while we investigate,” the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s post on Facebook reads. “The suspect is still at large.”
Michael Sauschuck, Maine’s Commissioner of Public Safety, held a press conference on Wednesday night telling people to shelter in place.
“At approximately 6:56 this evening a couple of shooting incidents occurred here with multiple casualties in the city of Lewiston,” said Sauschuck. “Police are currently searching for a Robert Card. Card is considered armed and dangerous and is a person of interest.”
Sauschuck said that if people see Card they should not “approach or make contact with him in any way.” Sauschuck said a vehicle believed to be connected to Card was found around 8 miles away from Lewiston, in the nearby town of Lisbon, Maine. Residents in Lisbon are also being asked to shelter in place.
“We have literally hundreds of police officers working around the state of Maine to investigate this case, and to locate Mr. Card,” said Sauschuck.
The commissioner said he did not have “firm numbers” on the amount of casualties from the shooting.
According to a bulletin issued by the Maine Information Analysis Center, Card is a trained firearms instructor who is a member of the Army Reserve.
The bulletin also stated that Card “recently reported mental health issues, including hearing voices, and threats to shoot up the National Guard Base in Saco, ME.” Card was committed to a mental health facility earlier this summer for two weeks and subsequently released, according to the bulletin.
Lewiston is the second largest city in Maine—having a population of 37,000—and is located about 45 minutes north of Portland. To deal with the mass casualty event, the state called in all off-duty police officers and turned the Lewiston armory into a triage center.
Local outlets have reported that police initially responded to a shooting at Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley, and Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant, at 7:15 PM EST.
A reunification center has been set up at a local middle school where anxious family members can wait to see if their family members who were at the locations of the shootings survived.
“My ex-husband and my son were playing pool at Schemengees,” one woman told an NBC outlet. “We’re all waiting, and we’ve heard nothing.”
Maine Governor Janet Mills said that she is aware of the situation in Lewiston.
“I urge all people in the area to follow the direction of State and local enforcement,” reads her Facebook post. “I will continue to monitor the situation and remain in close contact with public safety officials.”
Correction: A previous version of this story said the capitol of Maine is Portland. Maine’s capitol is Augusta.
