Police find note, divers to search river; live updates of search for Maine suspect

LEWISTON, Maine – Law enforcement found a note Thursday night during searches of a home connected to the suspect in the shootings in Lewiston, Maine, that killed 18 people earlier this week.

During a news conference on Friday, Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck confirmed a note was discovered but said, "I'm not permitted to really talk about what that included." He said investigators are looking into questions of whether the note ties in with a potential "mindset" or "motive."

Thousands of residents across southern Maine, meanwhile, were under shelter-in-place orders extended from Thursday, and multiple schools districts canceled classes as the manhunt for Robert Card, the suspect in the two deadly shootings, continues. Authorities announced Friday that they're focusing search efforts on the Androscoggin River, eight miles from Lewiston, where a vehicle belonging to Card was found at a boat ramp.

Authorities warned residents as far as 50 miles from the Just-In-Time bowling alley and Schemengees Bar and Grille where the massacres took place, to stay inside with their doors locked. The dragnet has brought hundreds of local, state and federal law enforcement agents to largely rural areas of southern Maine in search of the 40-year-old Army reservist.

Helicopters, divers to scour Androscoggin River

Sauschuck on Friday said helicopters will fly over the Androscoggin River before it's searched by divers and sonar equipment "for evidence or potential bodies." Officers will then search the shoreline.

Authorities said investigators are currently running down more than 500 tips and leads that've been reported. Law enforcement will also continue collecting evidence at the two shooting scenes, examining vehicles in the parking lot as well as bullets and cartridge shells. Sauschuck said they're drafting affidavits and search warrants for phones and digital media.

“This is clearly a completely different animal so, for us, we want to make sure that we bring this individual into custody, but we’ve got to do it right,” Sauschuck said. “We don’t want to see anybody hurt … we’re not going to be rushed.”

'It doesn't make any sense'

Rosa Storer, 48, wept as she spoke about three people she knows who were killed in the shootings. Storer grew up in Lewiston, and is one of the many residents under lockdown, who were rattled by the massacres.“I just don’t understand how they just let him go five miles down the road and let him just do it again," she told USA TODAY of the suspected shooter. "I know you don’t expect that to be happening but … I don’t get it, I don’t understand. It’s senseless; it doesn’t make any sense.”Storer, who was walking her dog, Gizmo, she she's frightened Card is still out there. "I’m beside myself that this has happened to so many people," she said, adding: "I’m little bit paranoid, not going to lie."

— Camille Fine

What happened in the Maine shootings?

Police said they first received a call reporting a shooting at the Just-In-Time bowling alley at 6:56 p.m. Wednesday. Then at approximately 7:08 p.m., several people reported an active shooter at Schemengees Bar and Grille, about four miles from the bowling alley.

Maine State Police Col. William Ross said at a Thursday news conference said seven people at the bowling alley were killed, including one female and six males. At the bar, eight people, all males, were shot and killed at the scene. Over a dozen people were rushed to nearby hospitals, where three later died.

Officials at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston said eight people injured in the shootings remained at their facility Thursday afternoon, three in critical condition and five stable. The chief medical officer, Dr. John Alexander, said the hospital staff was trained to provide this level of care even though it's rarely necessary.

“It’s unprecedented in terms of the severity of the injuries and the tragedy to the community,” he said.

As of Friday, eight fatal victims have been identified by police. Authorities have not public released the names of any victims, though some families have confirmed their loved one's deaths.

Police search farmhouse owned by Card's family

On Thursday night, police carried out multiple search warrants near Bowdoin, about 30 minutes from the shooting scenes, where investigators twice formed around a rural farmhouse connected to a relative of Card. Law enforcement at one point called for a person or people to surrender and asked media crews to turn off their lights.

"The announcements being heard over a loud speaker are standard search warrant announcements when executing a warrant to ensure the safety of all involved. It is unknown whether Robert Card is in any of the homes law enforcement will search," said the Maine State Police in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "Law enforcement officials are simply doing their due diligence by tracking down every lead in an effort to locate and apprehend Card."

The rural community includes a long road surrounded by farmland, homes and barns. Some homes are visible from the street while others have lots of tree cover. Signs asking vehicles to slow down for children are visible, including one warning of a cow-crossing.

Richard Goddard, who lives on the road where the searches were taking place, told the Associated Press that he knows the Card family and that Robert knows the terrain well. “This is is his stomping ground. He grew up here. He knows every ledge to hide behind, every thicket,” he said.

Is suspect Robert Card still at large?

Card has been on the run since Wednesday night, after police believe he carried out the massacres.

A vehicle believed to have been driven by Card was found overnight near a boat ramp in Lisbon, about eight miles away from Lewiston. The whereabouts of card's 15-foot boat are unknown, according to Chief Petty Officer Ryan Smith of the Coast Guard’s Boothbay Harbor Station. The Coast Guard sent a patrol boat to waters in the area Thursday morning − "doing our due diligence,'' Smith said − but did not find anything noteworthy.

It's possible Card escaped in a different land vehicle and has traveled hundreds of miles from Lewiston, which is about 160 miles southwest of the border with New Brunswick, Canada. The Canada Border Services Agency has also alerted its officers along the border with the U.S. to be on the lookout for the armed suspect.

CBSA said Canadian and U.S. officials are working together to “protect Canada’s borders against any threat or attempt at illegal entry.”

At a news conference Thursday, authorities did not provide any update on potential sightings of Card or his whereabouts.

Multiple schools districts close, cancel classes for Friday

Public schools across Lewiston, Lisbon, Auburn and Portland were closed Friday as were municipal offices in Lewiston. The class cancellations also extended to Bates College, a private liberal arts school in Lewiston.

"The tragic event(s) from Lewiston last night have shaken me to my core. Never, in my lifetime did I believe this could ever happen in Maine. However, sadly here we are," said Connie Brown, superintendent of the Auburn School Department. "Our staff will use this time to prepare for conversations with our students and how we can best support them during this difficult time.... Please draw your loved ones close to you and hold them tightly."

Families remember Maine shooting victims

While authorities have not released the victims' names, loved ones have been confirming their deaths. A bar manager whose father said confronted the gunman and a retiree who devoted himself to coaching youth bowling were among the victims killed during the deadly shootings.

Joe Walker was the bar manager at Schemengees Bar and Grille. His father, Auburn City Councilor Leroy Walker, told NBC News on Thursday his son was shot twice in the stomach as he went after the gunman with a butcher knife. “He died as a hero,” his father said.

Bob Violette, 76, devoted himself to his volunteer job coaching the youth bowling league that was practicing Wednesday night at Just-In-Time Recreation, said Patrick Poulin, whose teenage son has been a member of the league for three years. Violette’s daughter confirmed his death to WBZ-TV. Poulin described Violette as unfailingly approachable and caring.

"Sometimes kids are having a hard time for whatever reason, discouraged or something," he said. "He was great at picking them up and getting them to move along from that issue and get things going in the right direction."

Bill Young and his 14-year-old son, Aaron Young, were fatally shot at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, Bill’s brother, Rob Young, told Reuters. They had been out for an evening with their bowling league, he said.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, an industrial trade union, said in a statement Thursday that Peyton Brewer-Ross was a victim in the shooting. Brewer-Ross, 40, was a local education committee member who graduated from a rigorous apprenticeship in 2022, according to the Machinists Union. 

— Minnah Arshad and Vanessa Arredondo

Who is Robert Card?

Card, at the time of the shootings, was a sergeant first class in the Army Reserve, according to the Army. He enlisted in December 2002 and had no combat deployments. His military specialty is petroleum supply, and he has received several awards, including a Humanitarian Service Medal.

The Army said in a statement that Card's unit assisted in the summer training program provided at its academy in West Point, New York, in July, but "there are no records to indicate he instructed or participated in any training. The Army did not train (Sergeant First Class) Card as a firearms instructor, nor did he serve in that capacity for the Army.''

A state police bulletin circulated Wednesday said Card had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks this summer after “hearing voices and threats to shoot up” a military base.

In mid-July, Card was taken by police for an evaluation after military officials became concerned that he was acting erratically, The Associated Press reported, citing a U.S. official.

Contributing: Minnah Arshad, Thao Nguyen, Vanessa Arredondo, USA TODAY; The Associated Press