Robert Card, a 41-year-old retired military officer, has been charged with eight counts of murder. Each count of murder is connected to a mass shooting in the greater Lewiston, Maine area on Wednesday, October 25 that left at least 18 people dead. Card, who is still at large, is considered to be armed and dangerous. As a result, officials have asked anyone with any relevant information to contact the authorities.
On Thursday, October 26, Col. William G. Ross of the Maine State Police provided additional details regarding the mass casualty incident. According to Ross, the Auburn communications center received an emergency call about a shooting at the Sparetime Recreation Center at 6:56 p.m. EST on Wednesday, October 25. Twelve minutes later, the Auburn communications center received a call about a shooting at Schemengees Bar and Grille in Lewiston, Maine. Authorities arrived at the scene of both shootings shortly thereafter and began transporting victims to nearby medical facilities. Thus far, Maine Governor Janet Mills has confirmed the deaths of 18 people and additional reporting from multiple outlets say the number of wounded individuals could be as high as 60.
“A large law enforcement response from the multiple surrounding agencies assisted the Lewiston Police Department in trying to identify who this individual was and what was happening,” Ross said.
“As you can imagine, this was a very fast-paced, fast-moving, very fluid scene, very dangerous scene that these guys and girls were going into.”
State and local authorities continue to search for Card. Shelter in place orders have been put into effect across Lewiston, Libson and Bowdoin.
