A Maine city councilman has told how his son was shot after trying to stop mass shooter Robert Card’s bar massacre with a butcher knife.
Leroy Walker said his son Joseph, who ran Schemengees Bar & Grille in Lewiston, used his final moments to try to save lives before he was shot.
“My son took a butcher knife and attacked the shooter to stop him from killing other people,” the councilman said. “That’s when he shot my son. He tried to save more lives and in the end he lost his life.”
He added on CNN Friday morning: “I’m very proud of my son.” I know he would definitely do it again if that happened. “Throughout my life and my son’s whole life, we’ve faced a lot of other things that were sometimes crazy in life.”
Walker Sr. said the bar serves as a gathering place for members of the community who consider each other family.
Joseph Walker, 57, was the son of Auburn City Councilman Leroy Walker and manager of Schemenges Bar & Grille in Lewiston
“My son took a butcher knife and charged at the shooter to stop him from killing other people,” said City Councilman Leroy Walker
Leroy Walker said his son Joseph, who ran Schemengees Bar & Grille in Lewiston
The bar manager reportedly used his final moments to save lives before he was killed by the gunman
Law enforcement officials are continuing their investigation at the Schemengees Bar Association
“This place attracts thousands of people every year.” And Joe is usually the first face they see when they walk in the door and the last face they see leaving the door. It’s going to be hard for a lot of people,” Walker said through tears.
“To me and my family and his wife and grandchildren, stepchildren, they are a loving family.”
Walker Sr. went on to say that despite his grief, he harbors no anger toward the shooter.
“You have to put that part of it out of your mind.” “You have to let the law do whatever needs to be done,” he said. “If this person had been in their right mind at the time, I think he would have been a loving person, just like us.”
Suspect Card, 40, remains on the run more than 24 hours after Wednesday’s rampage.
The rampage left at least 18 people dead and 13 others injured, meaning it is believed to be the deadliest mass shooting of 2023. The shooting is the 34th mass killing with more than four victims in the United States this year.
Hundreds of police officers are searching for Card, a petroleum supply specialist who sought psychiatric treatment this summer after he reported hearing voices and thinking about hurting other soldiers.
Police officers (right) stand near armored and tactical vehicles (center) near a property on Meadow Road in Bowdoin, Maine, on Thursday evening
FBI agents conducted a dramatic raid on a family’s property Thursday night, but Card remains on the run – experts warned that the deer hunter and Army reservist is well equipped for wilderness survival and may even be planning a new attack.
The Canada Border Services Agency has alerted its officers along the Canada-U.S. border to being “armed and dangerous” as the search entered its second day Friday.
Survivors and bereaved families have spoken out following the bloody massacre at the Schemengees Bar and Grille and the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley in Lewiston, the state’s second-largest city.
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.
Bill Young and his 14-year-old son Aaron were shot at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, said Bill’s brother Rob Young.
Before learning of her death, Rob had flown from Baltimore to Lewiston on Thursday to help his sister-in-law in her frantic search for information after they had not been heard from since Wednesday, when they went bowling.
According to his daughter-in-law Cassandra, Young joined 76-year-old Bob Violette, who was also killed in the massacre that broke out at the Just In Time Recreation bowling alley, formerly known as Sparetime, and Schemengee’s Bar and Grille.
Tricia Asselin, 53, who worked at the bowling alley, was also confirmed dead in the harrowing hours after the senseless massacre.
Bryan MacFarlane, 40, who played cornhole with his deaf friends Arthur Strout, 41, and Ron Morin, was also confirmed dead by family and friends.
Peyton Brewer-Ross, 40, and Steve Vozzella, 45, were also identified as victims by their family, friends and colleagues.
The bowling alley’s manager, 34-year-old Tom Conrad, was also confirmed dead.
On Thursday, it emerged that Card may have been looking for his ex at the bowling alley and bar where he opened fire.
And police sources told ABC News that he left a suicide note addressed to his son.
The note did not provide a motive for the mass shooting, the sources said.
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.