Loud bangs were heard in the home of Maine mass shooter Robert Card on Thursday evening, and the FBI surrounded the property and ordered everyone inside to come out.
The road to the cottage was blocked and police said over megaphones: “FBI – open the door.”
Card, 40, has been on the run since he murdered 18 people in Lewiston on Wednesday night. On Thursday it emerged that he may have been looking for his ex at the bowling alley and the bar where he opened fire.
His sister told law enforcement that the 40-year-old Army Reserve firearms instructor may have attacked Schemengee’s Bar and Grille and the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley in Lewiston in hopes of finding them, according to ABC.
Court documents show that his ex-wife filed for divorce in 2007 and they were awarded joint custody of their child – but it is unclear whether she is his most recent ex-wife.
Card is still on the run and is considered armed and dangerous after carrying out the deadliest shooting of the year on Wednesday around 7 p.m. There are fears he may have escaped on a boat that belongs to him.
He opened fire with an AR-15 rifle, killing at least 18 people and wounding 13 others before fleeing. As the multi-agency search for the armed fugitive enters its 22nd hour, cops have also discovered a cryptic note at his Bowdoin home.
Maine mass shooter Robert Card left a note in his home that police have now found. The content has not been revealed, but it is intended to guide the hunt for the murderer
An aerial view of police personnel at Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant following deadly mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine
Four law enforcement sources told NBC New York that police are considering the meaning of the letter, although the contents or date of the letter have not been disclosed.
Officers were seen rolling a victim in a body bag out of schemes the next morning as police combed the area for Card, who is accused of multiple counts of murder.
The death toll could rise as many victims remain in critical area hospitals.
This came after his sister-in-law Katie Card revealed that he had heard voices at the bowling alley and bar where he launched his fatal attack, and that he was struggling with “an acute bout of mental health issues.”
His relatives texted him frantically, begging him to turn himself in to the police.
“I’ve known Rob my whole life,” his sister-in-law Katie Card told the Daily Beast on Thursday.
“He’s quiet but the most loving, hard-working and kind person I know. “But last year he had an acute bout of mental health problems and it was a struggle.”
She added that Card told his family that he heard voices criticizing him while he was at the bar and at the bowling alley.
“He really believed that he heard people saying things,” she added. “All of this just happened in the last few months.”
The search for Card enters its 22nd hour as authorities comb vast swathes of forest in Maine – and he may have even made it to Massachusetts or escaped by boat
Suspected Maine shooter Robert Card (pictured) heard voices before launching the deadly attack that killed at least 18 people, according to his sister-in-law
A woman is hugged by a man at an Auburn Middle School reunification center after shootings in Lewiston
Card’s former Army colleague Clifford Steeves said he never saw any concerning behavior from him during the decade they served together.
“He was a very nice guy — very quiet,” Steeves, of Massachusetts, told CNN.
“He never overused his authority or was mean or rude to other soldiers. “It’s really annoying.”
Steeves said they served in Wisconsin, Georgia and New York, and he felt like he “grew up” with Card because they went through Army training together as young men.
He added that while “aggressive leadership is very prevalent in the Army,” Card was known for being a “rational, understanding person” who “led with respect rather than fear.”
Steeves said Card was “an outdoors guy” who had extensive training in firearms and land navigation, so he would have no problem hiding in wooded areas. He added that Card was one of the best shooters in their unit.
Card is from Bowdoin and his car was found abandoned in Lisbon shortly after the shooting.
The incident left at least 18 people dead and 13 others injured, meaning it is believed to be the deadliest mass shooting of 2023. It is also the 34th mass killing with more than four victims in the United States this year.
Investigators are desperately searching for Card, who fled the crime scene on Wednesday evening and his car was found in the city of Lisbon.
Audio recordings from law enforcement officers suggested he may have crossed the border into Massachusetts, but Massachusetts State Police said the claim was unfounded.
Card was charged with multiple murders following the bloody massacre at the Schemengees Bar and Grille and Just-In-Time Recreation Bowling Alley in Lewiston, Maine, around 7 p.m. on Wednesday
A distraught Maine councilman said he knew his son was among the dead – although authorities have not yet confirmed this – while a 10-year-old girl spoke of being grazed by a stray bullet.
Leroy Walker, whose son ran Schemengees, said he was convinced his son was dead.
“If you had my gut feeling right now, I feel like I was crushed by a truck,” the Auburn city councilman told NBC. “The back of my neck feels like a vice is pushing it the other way.”
“And honestly, I don’t know what kind of night it will be from now until tomorrow when I wake up to the true fact that my son is dead – and I know he is dead.”
“I know it as well as I know that I’m standing here telling you this because he’s not here and he’s not in any other hospital and he’s not walking on the street, otherwise he would have called us because he’s managing schemes, so I know it was him there.’
Meanwhile, 10-year-old Zoey wondered, “Why do people do this?” as she sat next to her mother the morning after they survived the shocking bowling alley attack as their town remains in lockdown.
“I never thought I’d grow up and get a bullet in my leg,” Zoey told CNN. “Why do people do this?”
“I was more worried about whether I was going to survive and get out of here.” What will happen? Will the cops come?’
A distraught Maine councilman said he knew his son was among the dead – although authorities have not yet confirmed this – while a 10-year-old girl spoke of being grazed by a stray bullet
Card opened fire with an AR-15 rifle at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley around 7 p.m. Wednesday before aiming at Schemengees Bar and Grille about four miles away
Mother Meghan Hutchinson said her daughter was “grazed by a bullet” in the horrific rampage.
“She was hit by a bullet while running,” Hutchinson told ABC.
“We were in the back room. Another child came in with a massive – profusely bleeding – arm.
“So we barricaded ourselves there and another parent was in the room with me. She had a phone and called 911.’
Another Lewiston mother, Riley Dumont, was at the bowling alley with her daughter and her parents, including her father, a retired police officer who jumped into action and saved several people’s lives.
“I heard a really loud bang. “I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but my dad was looking at me,” Dumont told ABC.
“The next thing I know, he just took the group we were in and cornered us,” she said.
“He set up tables above us and just made sure we were safe.” At that point he just jumped into action. It felt like it took forever.’
“I was kind of laying on top of (my daughter) and my mom was kind of laying on top of me. “We had two other kids with us and two other moms too.”
Justin Karcher, 23, is on a ventilator in the intensive care unit after the shooting, according to his mother, Jessica Karcher.
Doctors had to “continue to resuscitate” him after emergency surgery, she told The Washington Post. “He’s not out of the woods yet.”
She added that Justin witnessed his father being shot in a Walmart parking lot in July 2019.
“His father died in front of him,” Karcher said. “My head is pounding,” she added. “I just called the hospital to get an update. And of course they don’t have one.’
Relatives of the 40-year-old Army reserve firearms instructor have also been texting him frantically, begging him to surrender. Meanwhile, officers were photographed carrying a victim away from one of the crime scenes in a body bag
Maine Police Col. William G. Ross said seven of the victims were found at the Just In Time bowling alley: a woman and six men, all of whom appeared to have suffered gunshot wounds.
Another eight victims were found at Schemengees Bar and Grille: seven men were discovered inside and one outside, all also with apparent gunshot wounds.
Many more people were taken to area hospitals, where some were pronounced dead.
The gunman opened fire with an AR-15 rifle at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley around 7 p.m. Wednesday before aiming at Schemengees Bar and Grille about four miles away.
Lewiston, a small city of about 38,000 residents, is on lockdown as police search for Card, who was hospitalized this summer for mental health issues. He previously reported hearing voices and threatened to attack his National Guard base in Saco, Maine.
“Please remain in your homes as more than 100 local and state investigators work to locate Robert Card, the man involved in the Lewiston shooting,” Maine State Police said on Facebook.
Lisbon Police Chief Ryan McGee called in all police to assist in the search and closed local businesses.
There was a heavy police presence outside Central Maine Medical Center Thursday morning. Police with high-powered rifles stood at every entrance. The hospital is on lockdown and no visitors are allowed.
The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other federal agents have joined the search.
Investigators said they were examining cell phone signals, social media and electronic records to build a timeline of his movements before the shooting.