Lewiston shootings: Manhunt continues for gunman who killed 18 in Maine

Authorities continued to search Friday for the man suspected of opening fire at a pair of businesses in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday night, killing 18 people and injuring 13 others.

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Robert Card, 40, is wanted on several murder charges after shots rang out before 7 p.m. at a bowling alley, Just-In-Time Recreation, and then at Schemengees Bar & Grille.

Police warned Thursday that he “should be considered armed and dangerous.”

Victims names and locations

Update 6:16 p.m. EDT Oct. 27: The Maine Department of Public Safety provided a list of victims and noted which location they were in when they were killed.

Schemengees Bar and Grille Restaurant

• Ronald G. Morin, 55
• Peyton Brewer, 40
• Joshua A. Seal, 36
• Bryan M. MacFarlane, 41
• Joseph Lawrence Walker, 57
• Arthur Fred Strout, 42
• Maxx A. Hathaway, 35
• Stephen M. Vozzella, 45

Just-in-Time Recreation

• Thomas Ryan Conrad, 34
• Michael R. Deslauriers II, 51
• Jason Adam Walker, 51
• Tricia C. Asselin, 53
• William A. Young, 44
• Aaron Young, 14
• Robert E. Violette, 76
• Lucille M. Violette, 73
• William Frank Brackett, 48
• Keith D. Macneir, 64

— Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Law enforcement releases names of victims

Update 5:27 p.m. EDT Oct. 27: Law enforcement released the names of the victims of Wednesday’s shooting during a news conference Friday afternoon. Following the release of the names, a moment of silence was observed.

All of the victims have been identified, according to Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck. All families have been notified.

Here is the list of victims, according to The New York Times:

• Ronald G. Morin, 55
• Peyton Brewer-Ross, 40
• Joshua A. Seal, 36
• Bryan M. MacFarlane, 41
• Joseph Lawrence Walker, 57
• Arthur Fred Strout, 42
• Maxx A. Hathaway, 35
• Stephen M. Vozzella, 45
• Thomas Ryan Conrad, 34
• Michael R. Deslauriers II, 51
• Jason Adam Walker, 51
• Tricia C. Asselin, 53
• William A. Young, 44
• Aaron Young, 14
• Robert E. Violette 76
• Lucille M. Violette, 73
• William Frank Brackett, 48
• Keith D. Macneir, 64

The ages of the victims ranged from 14 years old to 76 years old.

The shelter-in-place order has been rescinded. Sauschuck said hunting is prohibited in four towns only -- Bowdoin, Lewiston, Lisbon and Monmouth. Maine’s deer-hunting firearms season is set to start Saturday.

“This is not to say the crisis is over,” Sauschuck said regarding the decision to rescind the shelter-in-place orders, according to the Times.

For more information regarding this closure, visit the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife at www.mefishwildlife.com.

The next news conference is expected Saturday morning at 10 a.m. EDT, Sauschuck said.

— Jessica Goodman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

All 18 victims identified, official says

Update 3:35 p.m. EDT Oct. 27: All of the 18 people killed Wednesday when a gunman opened fire at a pair of businesses in Lewiston have been identified, NBC News reported, citing Lindsey Chasteen of the Maine Medical Examiner’s Office.

At a news conference earlier Friday, authorities said only eight of the victims had been identified.

Maine State Police were working Friday afternoon to notify all of the victims’ families, according to NBC News.

News conference expected Friday afternoon

Update 2:30 p.m. EDT Oct. 27: Officials are expected to share more information about the ongoing search for Card at a news conference on Friday afternoon.

Authorities will hold a news conference at 5 p.m. EDT at Lewiston City Hall, CNN reported, citing Maine Department of Public Safety public information officer Shannon Moss.

What we know about the victims

Update 1:40 p.m. EDT Oct. 27: Police said 18 people died in Wednesday night’s shooting, with eight of the victim’s families notified as of Friday morning.

The victims include a father and his 14-year-old son, a stay-at-home dad with a third kid on the way and a prominent ASL interpreter.

Report: Note found in search for Card addressed to his son

Update 12:20 p.m. EDT Oct. 27: A note found in a home associated with Card during a wide search for the mass shooting suspect was addressed to his son, The Associated Press reported, citing two unidentified law enforcement sources.

Officials described it as “a suicide note,” though they added that it did not provide a possible motive for the shootings. Card’s cellphone was also found in the home, according to the AP.

Authorities searched several properties associated with Card on Thursday, with efforts ongoing. His car was found abandoned near a boat launch in Lisbon after the shootings on Wednesday. Law enforcement planned to search a nearby portion of the Androscoggin River on Friday.

Card remains at large.

Family identifies expectant dad as victim of mass shooting

Update 12:05 p.m. EDT Oct. 27: Family members said a stay-at-home dad of two with a third baby on the way was among the 18 people killed in Wednesday’s mass shootings in Lewiston.

Maxx Hathaway’s sister, Kelsay Hathaway, said his wife is due to give birth to his third daughter in just over a month.

“He was a goofy, down-to-earth person, loved to joke around and always had an uplifting attitude no matter what was going on,” Kelsay Hathaway wrote. “He loved anime, gaming and loved to play pool. Growing up he would always play dolls with my younger sister Courtney and always loved to get into trouble.”

She said that his wife, Brenda, his daughters, his family and his friends “meant to world to him and his loss will be felt among the communities that he was apart of and grew up in.”

Authorities have not released the names of the 18 people killed Wednesday. Officials said they had notified eight families of their loved ones’ deaths as of Friday morning.

At least 7 remain hospitalized after Lewiston shootings

Update 11:40 a.m. EDT Oct. 27: At least seven people remained hospitalized on Friday after being injured in Wednesday’s mass shootings in Lewiston, according to CNN.

Citing officials at Central Maine Healthcare, the news station reported that three patients are in the intensive care unit while three others were in stable condition. One person is expected to be discharged Friday, CNN reported.

Note found at one of the homes searched, officials confirm

Update 10:40 a.m. EDT Oct. 27: Officials confirmed Friday that a note was found at one of the homes searched as the manhunt for Card continues, although they declined to detail what it said.

“That does involve, is there a mindset here? Is there a motive? What did that entail?” Commissioner Mike Sauschuck of the Maine Department of Public Safety said. “We’ll continue to work on that and when we can release it, we certainly will.”

Citing an unidentified law enforcement source, CNN reported that Card left a note behind before opening fire at Just-In-Time Recreation and Schemengees Bar & Grille. The note did not give a motive for the attacks, according to the news station.

Search areas Friday include Androscoggin River, shooting scenes

Update 10:30 a.m. EDT Oct. 27: Authorities expect to search dozens of locations Friday as they continue looking for Card following Wednesday’s mass shootings in Lewiston.

“The suspect in this case is not in custody,” Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck confirmed at a news conference Friday morning. “That continues to be our focus.”

The search areas targeted Friday include a portion of the Androscoggin River near the boat launch where Card’s vehicle was found Wednesday night. Crews will also search the woods near Just-In-Time Recreation and Schemengees Bar & Grille, the scenes of Wednesday’s shootings.

“We’re going to be all over the place,” Sauschuck said. “That’s not to say that we know the individual is in this house, or we know that the individual is in that house or they’re in that swath of land, this acreage. That’s not what we’re doing. But we do look at all these situations as if the individual could be in there. And if that’s the case, you’ll see tactical teams at some point.”

Authorities have gotten more than 530 tips, leads

Update 10:20 a.m. EDT Oct. 27: Police have gotten more than 530 tips and leads from the public as the manhunt for Card continues, said Mike Sauschuck, commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety.

“As you can imagine, those vary greatly depending on that individual’s knowledge of what’s happened and what they want us to do about it,” he said Friday at a news conference. “So, we’re continuing to check those things off the list as we go.”

Investigators are expected to continue searching Just-In-Time Recreation and Schemengees Bar & Grille for the next several days.

Police will hold regular briefings

Update 10:10 a.m. EDT Oct. 27: Authorities expect to hold briefings at least once daily as the search for Card continues.

“These daily briefings, as you can imagine, will be more operational in nature,” Mike Sauschuck, commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, said at a news conference Friday. “Our families, our communities, our loved ones are always going to be in the forefront of our mind and certainly in our hearts, but we do want to talk to you about — this is what we’re going to do, this is what we did.”

Sauschuck said the briefings are aimed at helping in the healing process for the community.

“I know that information is power,” he said.

Well-known ASL interpreter among the victims

Update 9:45 a.m. EDT Oct. 27: A prominent ASL interpreter is among the 18 people slain when a gunman opened fire Wednesday in Lewiston, according to the Pine Tree Society, a group that helps people with disabilities in Maine.

Joshua Seal was the society’s director of interpreting services and worked as an interpreter for COVID-19 briefings held by Maine’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the coronavirus pandemic.

“He was a husband, a father of four and a tireless advocate for the Deaf community,” according to the Pine Tree Society. The group added that Seal “was committed to creating safe space for Deaf people.”

“The ripple effects of his loss will be felt by countless Maine people,” Pine Tree Society said.

Police to share update Friday

Update 9:10 a.m. EDT Oct. 27: Maine State Police said they will hold a news conference Friday morning to update the public on the investigation into Wednesday’s shootings and the ongoing search for Card.

Schools to remain closed in Lewiston

Update 9:05 a.m. EDT Oct. 27: Schools will remain closed Friday as the search for Card continues, Lewiston Public Schools Superintendent Jake Langlais said in a statement on the district’s website.

“School buildings remain closed and no school transportation will run,” he said, adding that officials will have an update on closures later in the day.

“For today, we continue to shelter in place. Stay safe everyone.”

Original report: Hundreds of law enforcement officials have joined the search for Card, including local authorities and members of the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Marshals, U.S. Coast Guard and more.

Much of the search efforts Thursday focused on a property belonging to one of Card’s relatives in rural Bowdoin, The Associated Press reported.

Police said they executed search warrants, but warned that it was “unknown whether Robert Card is in any of the homes law enforcement will search.”

“Law enforcement officials are simply doing their due diligence by tracking down every lead in an effort to locate and apprehend card,” authorities said.

Card is a petroleum supply specialist in the Army Reserve and has had no combat deployments, officials said in a statement obtained by WFXT. He enlisted in December 2002.