#LEWISTON MASS SHOOTING: Huge Relief For Maine Communities As Suspect Robert Card Found Dead After Killing 18 People—-A sense of relief washed over a grieving Maine community that endured two days of fear after authorities announced the man accused of killing 18 people at a bowling alley and a restaurant earlier this week was found dead on Friday evening.
The body of Robert Card, 40, was discovered near a river some 10 miles from the shattered community of Lewiston with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Maine Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck said at a news conference Friday night.
The discovery ended a roughly two-day manhunt that left many residents in the serene, picturesque area living on edge and fearful to leave their homes.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills said she, like others, was relieved that the manhunt and the fear that came attached to it was over.
“Like many people, I’m breathing a sigh of relief tonight knowing that Robert Card is no longer a threat to anyone,” Mills said at a news conference Friday evening. “I know there are some people – many people – who share that sentiment, but I also know that his death might not bring solace to many.”
She said the discovery would allow the community to move on and begin “a long and difficult road to healing – but we will heal together.”
The extensive manhunt started Wednesday night after gunshots rang out at Just-in-Time Recreation and later at Schemengees Bar & Grille in Lewiston, according to officials. The 18 people killed, whom officials identified Friday, ranged in age from 14 to 76. They included a boy who was bowling with his father, contestants in a cornhole tournament for the deaf, and several fathers who leave behind young children. The shooting rampage left 13 others injured, officials said.
A survivor of the massacre, whose cousin Tricia Asselin was killed in the shooting, was relieved to hear the suspect was found dead so the “community itself can definitely move on without the fear of him out there,” she told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Friday night, adding she was “sad because we have so many questions left unanswered.”
Tammy Asselin, who was separated from her 10-year-old daughter as the shooting began at the bowling alley at Just-in-Time Recreation, continued: “I know it does give my daughter some peace to know that he has been caught, because that was a fear of hers – that he’s still out there.”
CREDIT: CNN
