Who is Robert Card? Confirmed details on Maine shooting suspect

Authorities are still attempting to locate Robert Card, the suspect in two mass shootings that left at least 18 people dead and another 13 injured in Lewiston, Maine, the state’s governor said Thursday morning. Card was initially considered a person of interest, but officials have since confirmed that he is viewed as a suspect in the shootings.

There is an arrest warrant out for eight counts of murder for Card, authorities said on Thursday morning. Eight of the shooting victims have been identified and their families have been notified, so the counts will likely increase as the remaining victims are identified, officials said  

The 40-year-old from Bowdoin, Maine, “should be considered armed and dangerous,” the police department in Lewiston, which is about 35 miles north of Portland, said in a Facebook post shared late on Wednesday. Police said he fled in the aftermath of the shootings. 

The shootings began just before 7 p.m. on Wednesday night, Maine Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck said at a news conference. Authorities said they responded to Schemengees Bar and Grille, a local restaurant, and Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley, which are about 10 minutes by car from each other. 

Authorities said Thursday that seven people were killed at the bowling alley and eight people were killed at the bar and grill. Three people died from injuries while being transported to hospitals.

“We cannot and we will not rest in this endeavor,” said Maine Governor Janet Mills on Thursday. Mills said she spoke with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in the wake of the shootings. 

Authorities have shared several images of the suspect in the shootings and asked that anyone who recognizes the pictured individual contact law enforcement. The police chief in Lisbon, Maine, near Lewiston, also urged the public Thursday morning to report anything that might seem suspicious in their neighborhoods.

Card is enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve and has an active military ID, which gives him access to any military base, according to a Maine law enforcement bulletin seen by CBS News. Officials previously said Card was a firearms instructor in the Army Reserve stationed in Saco, Maine, but later said that was not the case.

A U.S. Army spokesperson told CBS News on Thursday that Card enlisted in the reserves in December 2002 and serves as a petroleum supply specialist. He has no combat deployments, the spokesperson said. Card has received a number of awards for his service, including the Army Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon.

Card recently reported experiencing mental health issues, including hearing voices, and threatened to shoot up a military base in Saco, the law enforcement bulletin said. He was also reported to have been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks over this past summer. 

Card is from Bowdoin, a town east of Lewiston, but he has connections to Massachusetts, according to CBS Boston sources. The exact nature of his ties to Massachusetts were not immediately clear, the station reported. Massachusetts State Police are stationed at the Maine border along with federal agents. Officers were also stationed along the Maine border and the New Hampshire border as a precaution.

State Police said a “vehicle of interest” was recovered by police in Lisbon.  The vehicle matched a description of a vehicle that Card was known to have been driving following the shooting, a 2013 white Subaru Outback with a black bumper, which appeared in the law enforcement bulletin. 

According to a law enforcement bulletin, Card has two other vehicles registered to him: a 2022 Yamaha motorcycle and a 2019 Sea Doo green boat. Both are registered in Maine.  

The Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office, in Bath, said they have had “interactions” with Card in the past, CBS affiliate WGME reported. 

Card is described as being 5’11” tall and weighing 230 pounds. He attended the University of Maine as an engineering student but it was unknown whether Card graduated from the school, CBS Boston reported. His last known address was in Bowdoin.

No sightings of Card have been reported since Wednesday night, authorities said.