A call from the owner of Maine Recycling Corporation in Lisbon ultimately led police to locate the body of Lewiston mass shooting suspect after police previously searched the area.
Mike Sauschuck, commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, said during a 10 a.m. press conference at Lewiston City Hall Saturday that a Maine State Police tactical team found 40-year-old Robert Card II of Bowdoin dead inside a trailer in an overflow parking lot across the road from the recycling facility.
Card is suspected of killing 18 people and wounding 13 others in a mass shooting at two locations — Just-In-Time Recreation and Schemengees Bar and Grille — in Lewiston on Wednesday night.
Lisbon Police had previously searched and cleared the plant on Thursday, around 2 or 3 a.m., said Lisbon Police Chief Ryan McGee, but had not searched the 50-60 trailers filled with recycling materials in the overflow lot, one of which was ultimately where police located the body.
Sauschuck confirmed Card had been employed at the recycling plant at some point but did not say whether he was employed there at the time of the shooting.
Sauschuck confirmed Card had been employed at the recycling plant at some point but did not say whether he was employed there at the time of the shooting.
“The owner of that facility did a great job because he was like, you know, this individual knows the property,” Sauschuck explained, adding that police had not known about the overflow lot the owner suggested they also search.
Sauschuck said it remains unclear how Card got to the trailer but all evidence at this time points to on foot.
It is still unclear how long Card had been deceased before police located his body. “I don’t know that yet,” Sauschuck said, “and I think that comes down to the autopsy.”
Officials have identified the 18 deceased, who range in age from 14 to 76, including a father and his 14-year-old son. The identities of the 13 people injured in the shooting have not been shared by public officials. It is the 10th deadliest recorded mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
More than 350 local, state and federal law enforcement officers participated in the two-day search for Card across Androscoggin and Sagadahoc counties.
Firearms found
The gun found in the suspect’s car was a “long gun,” Sauschuck said, though he declined to provide further information about the make and model or information about other firearms recovered in the investigation. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said Saturday that the firearms recovered so far appear to have been legally purchased by Card.
“There’s been a number of firearms that have been recovered as part of this investigation, and some of them were purchased very recently and some of them years and years ago,” an ATF agent said.
Confirmation of a note
Sauschuck confirmed on Friday the existence of a note from Card. He declined to share the exact details of the note Saturday but said it was addressed from Card to a loved one and included his phone passcode and bank account numbers.
“I wouldn’t describe it as a explicit suicide note,” Sauschuck said, “but the tone and tenor was that the individual was not going to be around and wanted to make sure that this loved one had access to his phone and whatever was in his phone.”
Police are currently working to get a warrant to access his phone and bank accounts, Sauschuck said.
Sauschuck also reiterated that family members were cooperating with law enforcement throughout the investigation. “Truth be told, I think the first three people that called us to positively identify this individual based on the photos that were released were family members,” he said.
Mental health
As for motive, Sauschuck confirmed that Card’s mental health appears to have been a factor, although police are working to obtain access to his medical records.
“The individual felt like people were talking about him. It may even appear that there were some voices in play here,” Sauschuck said, explaining that those perceived voices may have been connected to the two specific shooting locations.
“I have not seen to this point that Mr. Card was forcibly committed for treatment,” Sauschuck said, meaning a background check would not “ping” Card as someone prohibited from purchasing a firearm. Sauschuck also said while mental health appears to be a component of this case, most people with mental illness are not violent.
Continued investigation
Law Enforcement will continue to process the scene where Card’s body was found as well as at the two shooting locations.
Law enforcement received about 821 tips and leads throughout the search and have about a dozen signed search warrants, which are not currently available to the public. However, given that a trial is no longer likely, Sauschuck expects they will become available to the public.
This article originally appeared in florida phoenix