LEWISTON, Maine — The man suspected of killing 18 and injuring 13 in two mass shootings in Lewiston was never involuntarily committed for mental health treatment and would not have been prohibited from owning a firearm, Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck said Saturday morning.
Robert R. Card II’s body was found in a trailer at the recycling center where he once worked after multiple police searches of the facility, Sauschuck told reporters at a Lewiston press conference.
Police are still investigating a motive, but police have no information about any “forcible” mental health treatment that could have triggered Maine’s yellow flag law, Sauschuck said.
“I have not seen that Card was forcibly committed for treatment. If that didn’t happen, then the background check is not going to ping that this person is prohibited,” he said.
But Card’s mental health likely played a role in the shootings, Sauschuck said.
“We certainly know that there’s a strong mental health cloud over this,” he said.
Card purchased some guns recently and others years ago, all legally, Jim Ferguson, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said at the press conference.
The Maine State Police’s tactical team found Card’s body at 7:45 p.m. in a box-like trailer at the Maine Recycling Corporation at 61 Capital Ave., Sauschuck said, about 48 hours after Card opened fire at Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley and Schemengees Bar and Grille.
Red areas on map indicate where aerial, ground and water searches were conducted.
The discovery concluded a manhunt that sent police across Androscoggin and Sagadahoc counties, from Lewiston to a Lisbon boat launch to Durham and his family home in Bowdoin.
Police had searched and cleared the recycling center twice before, but had not checked an “overflow lot” the center owns across the street, Sauschuck said. That area has more trailers, including the one where Card’s body was found.
The owner of the property gave police tips and pointers of where to look because he knew Card had worked there, Sauschuck said.
The Maine Recycling Corporation employed Card as a commercial driver for one year. He left voluntarily late last spring, the company said in a statement Friday morning.
“We may never know, and certainly will never comprehend, why he committed these horrific acts against our neighbors and friends, or why he chose to end his life where he did. We do know that our employees, along with the rest of our community, are shaken to the core,” the statement said.
Card appears to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Sauschuck said, but his exact time of death is still unknown.
Police found Card with two guns around him. They found another gun in Card’s vehicle that was left at the Miller Park boat launch, Sauschuck said. The gun in Card’s vehicle was a long gun, but Sauschuck did not know the make or model.
Sauschuck confirmed that police found a paper note from Card to a loved one. It provided the passcode to Card’s phone and his bank account numbers.
“I wouldn’t describe it as a explicit suicide note. But the tone and tenor was that of an individual that 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,” he said.
Police are still working to get into Card’s phone, Sauschuck said.
Card’s family came forward almost immediately to identify him as the potential shooter.
“They should be acknowledged for that. As a whole we found them to be very very cooperative,” he said.
Police will continue processing the scene where Card was found and the shooting scenes through the weekend. The command post is transitioning back to the Lewiston Police Department.
Overall, police received more than 800 tips during the course of the manhunt, he said. Police also got more than a dozen impounded search warrants that will eventually be made public, Sauschuck said.
An assistance center is set up at the Lewiston Armory at 65 Central Ave. and is meant to be a place for victims and their families. It is open for people who were at either of the locations whether or not they were injured.
The media will not be allowed to enter the center. The space opened this morning at 10 a.m. and will close at 7 p.m.
There is a separate location for community members to gather at the Ramada Inn in Lewiston. That center is available to anyone who may be struggling in the wake of the mass shootings, Sauschuck said.
“The entire city is a scene,” Sauschuck said.
A vigil in Lewiston is planned for 6 p.m. Sunday at the Franco Center at 46 Cedar St., according to WGME.
The victims were 14 to 76 years old, playing cornhole and bowling when they were killed. They left behind children, spouses, siblings and friends.