New Revelation: Maine Mass Shooting Suspect Robert Card Was Institutionalized After 'Hearing Voices'

 

 

Card was a keen fisher and hunter, according to his social media posts

The person of interest in the Maine mass shooting that left at least 22 people dead has been identified as a trained firearms instructor who spent two weeks in a mental health facility over the summer, and recently lost his job. 

Robert Card, 40, is the subject of a police manhunt in connection to the massacre in the city of Lewiston on Wednesday night.

Card is from Bowdoin, Maine - a town with a population just over 3,000 - and is believed to be an Army Reservist stationed out of Saco.

The 40-year-old, believed to be single, grappled with mental health issues, recently reporting 'hearing voices' and threatening to shoot up the military training base.

Over the summer, he was committed to a mental health facility for two weeks.

Card is also reported to have recently lost his job, though it is not currently known who his former employer was. 

A criminal background check revealed that in 2007, he was charged with a misdemeanour offence for driving under the influence, which he was found guilty of. 

It is not currently know what he was under the influence of when he was arrested.  

He was forced to pay a $500 fine, spend 48 hours in a cell and had his driver's licence suspended for 90 days 

Card studied engineering at the University of Maine between 2001 and 2004, though it is not currently known if he graduated. 

He is understood to have lived in a rural part of Maine, around 10 miles away from Lisbon, where he reportedly abandoned his car following the deadly shooting. 

A phone number listed for the alleged shooter was not in service, the Associated Press reported.  

Authorities have reiterated that Card is only a person of interest and refuse to call him a suspect yet.

The Lewiston Police Department issued a statement Wednesday night, urging people to contact the department with any information on his whereabouts.

'Law Enforcement is attempting to locate Robert Card 4/4/1983, as a person of interest regarding the mass shooting at Schemengees Bar and Sparetime Recreation this evening,' it read. 'Card should be considered armed and dangerous.'

He was last known to be driving a white Subaru Outback with a black bumper.

Maine State Police released their own statement indicating that the car had been located.

'A vehicle of interest was located in Lisbon and we are now also asking residents in Lisbon to shelter in place as law enforcement works in that area to locate Card,' it read.

The manhunt expanded Wednesday night, as hundreds of police officers from local and multiple federal agencies surrounded Lisbon and the nearby Lisbon Falls.

Lewiston Police responded to an active shooting at two different locations on Wednesday night - Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant and a bowling alley.

Another shooting was reported at a Walmart distribution center, but a company spokesperson told CNN that none of Walmart’s facilities were involved in the incident.

Surveillance footage from inside Sparetime Recreation showed a bearded man in a brown hoodie clutching an AR-15-style rifle.

Twenty-two were killed and over 60 were injured, prompting Maine hospitals to declare a mass casualty event.

Law enforcement officers were deployed from surrounding states, including Massachusetts, according to a post from the Boston office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation also offered assistance to authorities in Maine, while state police urged people to shelter in place with their doors locked.

Wednesday night's shooting is the deadliest in the United States this year.