What We Know About Maine Mass Shooting Suspect Robert Card
Robert Card, the primary suspect in a series of mass shootings in Maine Wednesday that left 18 people dead, spent two weeks in a mental health facility this summer and allegedlythreatened to shoot up a U.S. Army National Guard base.
Card is at large and “armed and dangerous,” law enforcement said during a news conference Thursday morning. Police haven’t yet identified Card’s motive for the shooting.
On Wednesday night, 40-year-old Card allegedly killed seven people inside Schemengees Bar and Grille and eight people inside the Sparetime Recreation bowling alley, both located in Lewiston, Maine. Three others died in the hospital, according to authorities.
Of the 18 people dead, eight have been identified. An arrest warrant is out for Card on eight counts of murder.
Here’s what we know about Card so far:
He struggled with his mental health and made previous threats.
A state law enforcement bulletin obtained by NBC News stated that Card was admitted to a mental health facility this summer. The details of his condition and treatment weren’t immediately available.
According to the same bulletin, Card was hearing voices and once threatened to shoot up a National Guard base in Saco, Maine.
Card made statements targeting his own unit, which alarmed his military reserve commanders, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
Card didn’t appear to have any previous charges related to violence in Maine, according to public records.
He’s a ‘gun fanatic’ with military training.
Police believe Card was in the Army Reserves, and was trained at a facility in Saco. The U.S. Army released a statement Thursday denying earlier reports that Card had been trained as a firearms instructor.
Updated US Army statement on SFC Robert Card:
"There are no records to indicate he instructed or participated in any training. The Army did not train SFC Card as a firearms instructor, nor did he serve in that capacity for the Army." pic.twitter.com/V7fjidXdhr— Kellie Meyer (@KellieMeyerNews) October 26, 2023
Liam Kent, who appeared on NBC News, grew up in Bowdoin, Maine, where Card lived, and said Card and his family are “gun fanatics.”
“It’s known in the town to stay away from them and to not approach them,” Kent said. “If you see them, just turn around and walk away.”
He also studied engineering at the University of Maine from 2001 to 2004, NBC News confirmed.
This photo released by the Lewiston Maine Police Department shows Robert Card, who police have identified as a person of interest in connection to mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, on Oct. 25.
His social media suggests a violent conservative media diet.
On X, formerly Twitter, Card often liked posts from former President Donald Trump, conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson, and a professor who taught about terrorism, according to Heavy. Card had liked a March post from Donald Trump Jr. following a mass shooting in Nashville that read, “rather than talking about guns we should be talking about lunatics pushing their gender affirming bulls**t on our kids?” Card’s X account was suspended after the shooting.
His whereabouts are unknown.
Police found Card’s abandoned vehicle at a boat launch area in Lisbon Falls, Maine. According to public records, Card has two watercraft registered to his name, including a 1989 Bayliner, though police didn’t say whether their search area included Maine waterways.
