Recycling Center Already Had Been Searched Twice

Maine residents are left with questions about mass shooting
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 28, 2023 5:35 PM CDT
Police Hadn't Found Suspect in Two Searches of Recycling Site
Bre Allard, accompanied by her children Lucy, 5, and Zeke, 8, plant crosses Saturday in honor of the victims of this week's mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine.   (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Twice during their manhunt this week, Maine police searched a recycling center in Lisbon for a mass shooting suspect and gave it the all-clear. Then the center's owner called police urging them to look again, asking them to check the trailers sitting in a overflow lot across the street, the Washington Post reports. That's where they found Robert Card on Friday night, in an unlocked trailer filled with scrap metal and plastic, after he apparently shot himself. The Maine Recycling Corp. said Card had been employed as a commercial driver but left voluntarily last spring. The Wednesday night attack on Lewiston killed 18 people and wounded 13. Law enforcement officials held a news conference Saturday. The new information involves:

  • The towns: The people of Lewiston and neighboring towns emerged after having to shelter in place during the manhunt. Businesses began reopening Saturday, but police were still working at the two shooting locations. Billboards displayed messages including "Lewiston Strong," per the New York Times. A center was opened to help anyone present at either shooting site to find assistance from agencies, and officials said mental health services will be provided to the wider public at a local hotel. "The entire city is a scene, people that are traumatized," said Michael Sauschuck, commissioner for the state Department of Public Safety.
  • The residents: Elizabeth Seal, whose husband, Joshua, was shot to death, said she wanted Card to be apprehended. "I wanted to ask questions that will not be answered," she told CNN. "Why did you do this? What was the motive? Why would you hurt so many families?" Deborah Roy said the reality hit her when she left her house and saw people, cars and cameras everywhere. "How one person can tip the world upside down, it's devastating," Roy said.
  • Suspect's message: Officials did not call the message found in Card's home a suicide note, Sauschuck said Saturday that its "tone and tenor" indicated that the writer "was not going to be around." The note was addressed to a loved one and included the passcode to his phone and his bank account numbers, per NBC News. "If you talk about is there a motive here, right, I think clearly, there's a mental health component to this," Sauschuck said.
  • Card's mental health: There's no indication that Card was ever forced into mental health treatment, Sauschuck said. He added that though there was a strong mental health "nexus" to the crime, and Army Reserve officials were concerned enough to send Card for an evaluation, "The vast, vast, vast majority of people with a mental health diagnosis will never hurt anybody."
  • The victims: Three of the wounded remain in critical condition, officials said Saturday. Investigators said they have not found any indication that Card knew the victims. A candlelight vigil for those killed in the shooting was being held Saturday evening in Lisbon Falls. "Moving forward," said Ryan McGee, the Lisbon police chief, "we should be thinking about the victims."
(More Maine mass shooting stories.)

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