4m ago / 11:20 AM EDT
Timeline of 911 calls
The first 911 call came in to the Auburn communications center at 6:56 p.m. Wednesday night regarding a male who was shooting at Just-In-Time Recreation, a bowling alley, in Lewiston, William G. Ross with Maine State Police said Thursday.
Then at 7:08 p.m., the communication center received multiple calls about an “active shooter” inside Schemengees Bar and Grille, about 4 miles away from Just-In-Time, also in Lewiston.
“A large law enforcement response from multiple surrounding agencies assisted the Lewiston police department in trying to identify who this individual was, what was happening,” Ross said.
“As you can imagine this was a very fast paced, fast moving, very fluid scene, very dangerous scene, that these guys and girls were going into,” he added.
13m ago / 11:11 AM EDT
13 injured in Lewiston shootings
Gov. Janet Mills said in a briefing Thursday that 13 people were injured in the shootings that erupted Wednesday night in Lewiston.
It’s not clear how many of those are in critical condition.
Police have not shared details such as the ages of those killed or wounded.
11m ago / 11:14 AM EDT
Where the fatal victims were found
Officials said in a news briefing Thursday that 18 people were killed in the Lewiston shootings Wednesday night.
So far, eight of the victims who died have been identified, and 10 are still pending identification, William G. Ross with Maine State Police, which is leading the investigation, said.
Seven of the victims were found at the Just In Time Recreation (formerly known as Sparetime) bowling alley: one female and six males, all suffering apparent gunshot wounds, Ross said.
Another eight of the victims who died were found at Schemengees Bar and Grille: seven males found inside and one outside, all also with apparent gunshot wounds.
Multiple people were transferred to area hospitals, three of whom were pronounced deceased, Ross said.
8m ago / 11:16 AM EDT
Robert Card named as suspect, arrest warrant for 8 counts of murder issued
An arrest warrant was issued for Robert Card, charging him with at least eight counts of murder, police said today.
The eight counts are based on the identification of eight of the 18 people gunned down in a series of shootings on Monday night in Lewiston, Maine State Police Col. William Ross.
Card’s whereabouts are still unknown.
“We’re actively searching for him,” Maine Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck told reporters. “ We don’t know his location and I’ll leave it at that.”
36m ago / 10:48 AM EDT
Robert Card has served in the Army Reserve since 2002
Robert Card, who police say is a person of interest in the Lewiston massacre, is a longtime member of the Army Reserve with no combat deployments, the Army confirmed today.
Sgt. 1st Class Card is a petroleum supply specialist who enlisted in December 2002, according to Army spokesperson Bryce Dubee.
Card’s awards include the Army Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal x2, Humanitarian Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon.
A bulletin put out by the Maine Information and Analysis Center, a database for law enforcement officials, said Card “recently reported mental health issues to include hearing voices and threats to shoot up the National Guard Base in Saco, ME.”
15m ago / 11:09 AM EDT
People knew to ‘stay away’ from Robert Card, Maine resident says
Robert Card, the person of interest in the Lewiston mass shooting, lived in what local resident Liam Kent described as “basically a compound” in the neighboring town of Bowdoin, Maine.”The family and Robert, they’re all gun fanatics,” Kent said. “For all intents and purposes, they are very much associated with right-wing militias. It’s known in the town to stay away from them and not approach them.”
Kent said he vividly remembers when he went to the store as a kid and saw Card at a nearby weigh station with a dead deer. Card was grinning, covered in blood with a gun still strapped to his body.
“Also they would shoot guns all the time, you could hear them every day after school,” Kent added. “It was like clockwork.”
Some of the victims were people Kent knew, he said, declining to identify anyone before officials made names public.
1h ago / 10:24 AM EDT
Maine Gun Safety Coalition blames Lewiston shootings on ‘weak gun laws’
A nonprofit organization that advocates for gun safety legislation in Maine issued a statement today directly blaming the Lewiston shootings on “weak gun laws.”
“The Maine Gun Safety Coalition grieves with the families and friends who lost loved ones in the mass shooting last night,” the statement said. “We watched in horror as the tragedy in Lewiston, Maine happened before our eyes — the result of our weak gun laws.”
“We call on our elected officials tonight to stop bowing to the gun lobby and look squarely at the face of what has happened in Maine’s second largest city,” the group said. “At a minimum, the Maine Gun Safety Coalition believes an assault weapons ban is necessary to try to prevent more such tragedies in our state.”
1h ago / 10:14 AM EDT
Flags at White House, other federal locations lowered to half-staff in honor of victims
Biden issued a proclamation today ordering the White House flags lowered to half-staff in honor of the Maine shooting victims.
“I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations,” the order read.
The flags will be lowered from today through sunset Monday.
55m ago / 10:29 AM EDT
University of Maine, where Robert Card once studied, cancels class
The University of Maine, where the person of interest, Robert Card, once attended 20 years ago, canceled classes today.
Students and staff in Orono, which is more than 100 miles away from last night’s shootings in Lewiston, need “this time to support each other, connect with loved ones, and grieve for those whose lives were tragically lost,” according to a university statement.
Card went to Maine for three academic years, from fall 2001 through spring 2004, studying engineering technology, university spokesman Eric Gordon said. Card left the school without graduating, he added.
13m ago / 11:11 AM EDT
18 dead, 60 injured, sources say
The Lewiston shootings killed 18 people and critically injured four, two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the matter told NBC News.
Another 60 people have been wounded, though some of their injuries are minor ones associated with fleeing, they said.
