Lewiston shootings: Maine police alerted about gunman’s threats but could not locate him

LEWISTON, Maine — Police in Maine were alerted last month about “veiled threats” by the man who carried out the worst mass shooting in the state but were unable to locate him, authorities said.

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Robert Card, 40, of Bowdoin, killed 18 people and injured 13 others when he opened fire at two locations in Lewiston on Wednesday. A massive statewide search ended Friday when Card was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

During a news conference on Saturday, Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck said that Card was found dead inside a trailer in an overflow parking lot by the Maine Recycling Facility.

Two local law enforcement chiefs told The Associated Press that a statewide awareness alert was sent in mid-September for authorities to watch for Card, a U.S. Army reservist who made threats against his Army Reserve Center base in Saco, 20 minutes south of Portland.

After patrols and visits to Card’s home did provide any information on the whereabouts of the firearms instructor, they moved on. according to the news organization.

Saco police Chief Jack Clements told WMTW on Thursday that his department was advised in September about Card’s threats toward the reserve center.

“We did what law enforcement does, right? We paid attention to it,” Clements told the television station. “Kept an eye on the area. The guy never showed up down here. Never had contact with him. No nothing.”

In Card’s hometown of Bowdoin, Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry said the Army Reserve tipped off his department in September to the threats, the AP reported. Merry said he sent an awareness alert to every state law enforcement agency after his deputies were unable to locate Card, according to the news organization.

“We couldn’t locate him,” Merry told the AP.

He said he could not recall if there was any follow-up about Card because “I don’t have any reports in front of me.”

Card enlisted in the army reserves in December 2002 when he was 19, Army spokesperson Bryce Dubee told WMTW. He had no combat deployments, Dubee added.

Card, who was a sergeant first class, had been assigned to the reserve’s 3rd battalion, 304th infantry regiment in Saco, Dubee told the television station. He was a petroleum supply specialist.

“The Army did not train SFC Card as a firearms instructor, nor did he serve in that capacity for the Army,” Dubee told WTMW.

Despite Card’s earlier threats, the FBI said Saturday that he had not been on its radar, the AP reported.

The agency “did not have nor did it receive any tips or information concerning Robert Card.”

The FBI added that its instant background check system “was not provided with or in possession of any information that would have prohibited Card from a lawful firearm purchase.”

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Lewiston shootings Police respond to an active shooter situation in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (Robert F. Bukaty/AP)

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Vigil: Devin Wagner and her son, Mason Wagner, attend a candlelight vigil to honor the victims of the Lewiston shootings. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)