Police statewide were warned about the alleged Maine mass shooter weeks before he massacred 18 people



Law enforcement officials across Maine received warnings that a deranged Bowdoin man might pose a threat to the public weeks before he allegedly massacred 18 people in Lewiston, then killed himself.

The alleged shooter was a sergeant with the Army Reserve's 3rd Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiment, who recently lost his job at a recycling center. In the lead-up to his monstrous final episode, he also began hearing voices, which he blamed on his new hearing aid.

In mid-September, the Army Reserve tipped off Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry about "veiled threats" issued by the alleged shooter. Sheriff Merry, whose jurisdiction covers the alleged shooter's Bowdoin home, sent a deputy to the home but "couldn't locate him," reported the Associated Press.

While his deputy didn't have any luck, Merry figured others might, so he sent an alert to every law enforcement agency in Maine.

Shannon Moss, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety, confirmed in conversation with the Boston Globe that the State Police Department along with "every other law enforcement agency in Maine" received Merry's alert.

The alert was apparently a common File 6 "blanket alert," which prompted officers to keep their eyes peeled but not to proactively search for the reservist. Sergeant Marc Marion of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department underscored the frequency with which such alerts are sent out, noting he'd received 25 such alerts just over the weekend.

"It’s important to note that mental health calls are a large portion of our call volume, so we get a lot of these," said Brunswick Police Chief Scott Stewart. "We take them all serious, but nothing stood out with this more than any other one that we get."

Moss said that "no bulletins or assistance was requested" in conjunction with the alert.

The FBI told the Associated Press that agents hadn't been looking at the alleged shooter prior to the massacre, noting the bureau "did not have nor did it receive any tips or information concerning" him.

It appears as though a July incident involving the alleged shooter failed to make the FBI's radar.

New York State Police officers were reportedly called on July 16 to West Point by his superior officers regarding his behavior and threats he had made against other reservists. As a result of the NYSP intervention, he underwent two weeks of mental health evaluation at the Kelly Army Community Hospital at the U.S. Military Academy.

Michael Sauschuck, the commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, said that there was no evidence the alleged shooter had been involuntarily committed, which would have triggered an incident report for the military database and an alert to the FBI.

Maine's so-called "yellow-flag" law, whereby a mentally compromised individual can be forced to give up his guns if recognized by a judge as a threat, appears to have failed to stop the shooter.

"If in fact the suspect was hospitalized for two weeks for mental illness, that should have triggered the yellow-flag law and he should have been separated from his weapons," said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), reported Connecticut Public.

Extra to the September tip-off from the base, blasted statewide in turn by Sheriff Merry, the alleged shooter's sister-in-law Katie Card told NBC News the family reached out to police and the Army Reserve "to make sure everyone was on the same page, because he is someone who does gun training. ... We were concerned about his mental state."

The sister-in-law said that the alleged shooter, who had severe hearing loss, had allegedly been "picking up voices that he had never heard. ... His mind was twisting them around. He was humiliated by the things that he thought were being said."

"He was just very set in his belief that everyone was against him all of a sudden," she added.

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Suspect in Maine mass shootings found dead



Robert Card, the man suspected of killing 18 people and wounding 13 others in Maine mass shootings earlier this week, has been found dead.

"The suspect in Wednesday nights shootings has been located and is deceased," the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office noted in a Facebook post.

During a news conference on Friday night, Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck said that the individual had an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

"Like many people, I'm breathing a sigh of relief tonight knowing that Robert Card is no longer a threat to anyone," Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) said during the press conference.

In a statement earlier on Friday, Mills noted that she knew one of the shooting victims.

"It is often said that our state is 'one big, small town' because Maine is such a closeknit community. As a result, many of us know the victims personally, including me, who lost a friend in Josh Seal, who Maine people fondly remember from his service as an ASL interpreter during our COVID-19 briefings," Mills said in the statement. "I am heartbroken for the families of these victims, including Aaron Young who was just fourteen years old. Tonight, I ask Maine people to join me in reading their stories, learning who they were, celebrating them as beloved people, and mourning them as irreplaceable."

Live: Police update on Maine suspect found dead | LiveNOW from FOX www.youtube.com

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The left is politically exploiting Maine mass shooting to push anti-gun agenda



When a mass shooting occurs, the first order of business, after catching the shooter, is to mourn for the victims with the loved ones they leave behind.

Unfortunately, neither of these things has happened. The manhunt for suspect Robert Card continues, and the left, instead of paying respect to the people who lost their lives, is using the tragedy as a means of pushing its anti-gun agenda.

On Wednesday, October 25, a shooter opened fire in a bowling alley, leaving 18 dead and 13 wounded. The prime suspect is an Army reservist who had recently been admitted to a mental hospital for psychiatric treatment when he admitted to “hearing voices in his head,” reports Sara Gonzales.

However, the left, as usual, looks at this tragic situation and points to guns as the root issue.

“There are a lot of vultures out there lying in wait just to capitalize off the deaths of innocent people, foaming at the mouth to blame the gun and take away your right to self-defense, chomping at the bit to tie this obvious lunatic to conservatives or, better yet, Donald Trump himself,” says Sara.

Some of these vultures include the Washington Post. Yesterday, the outlet released an article titled, “Twitter account of suspected Maine shooter ‘liked’ conservative posts,” in which they reported that Card allegedly liked posts written by “Tucker Carlson, Dinesh D’Souza, Jordan Peterson and Donald Trump Jr.,” indirectly suggesting that conservative opinions are to blame for the atrocious crime.

The worst of these vultures, however, is Gavin Newsom, who insolently tweeted:

Allow us to point out the profusion of holes in Newsom’s argument.

1. Banning guns and instituting gun-free zones does nothing to impede mass shooters. In fact, it likely encourages them “because they know that all of the people will be completely defenseless.”

2. A rogue individual with sinister intentions is not going to be deterred by gun permits.

“I'm sure a criminal or a crazy person walking into a bowling alley intending to kill a bunch of innocent people will really be concerned with whether or not they have a permit to carry the gun in public; I bet it'll stop them right in their tracks,” mocks Sara.

3. “They do require background checks [because] that’s a federal law.”

Further, “it’s already illegal for someone who is committed to a mental health facility to own firearms,” explains Sara.

Instead of criticizing legal gun ownership, instead shouldn’t we be asking:

“How did he have access to [weapons],” given that his mental condition should have made it illegal?

Did he target “a gun-free zone, making it impossible for law-abiding gun owners to protect and defend themselves?”

“What kind of medications was he on?”

“Was this a failure of government to follow its own laws and procedures?”

One thing is crystal clear, however – it is fruitless to call for stricter gun laws that “wouldn't have actually prevented this tragedy,” says Sara.


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'He died as a hero': Families begin opening up about Maine massacre victims, including those who went down fighting



A gunman opened fire in a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday evening, slaughtering 18 people and grievously wounding 13 others. While authorities have waited to identify the victims, some family members have already begun to do so.

In addition to the names of the victims, stories of their heroism and defiance in the face of evil have begun to emerge.

Eight people were killed at Schemengees Bar and Grille, according to the Maine State Police. Among them was bar manager Joseph Walker.

Walker's dad, Leroy Walker, an Auburn city councilor, shared with NBC Nightly News what state police told his daughter-in-law, Tracey Walker, about the shooting.

The visibly devastated father indicated that after MSP told Joseph Walker's widow that he had been slain, they "went into telling her that he died as a hero because he picked up a butcher knife from somewhere — he has all that stuff near the bar anyways. And he tried to go at the gunman to stop him from shooting anybody else. The gunman shot him twice through the stomach."

NBC News' Lester Holt pressed the councilor on whether the knowledge that his son went down fighting changed his pain at all.

Leroy Walker answered, "Oh. ... It made it worse. Yeah, it made it worse."

The Station Grill Restaurant, where Joseph Walker was also a manager, noted in a Meta post, "For those of you that don't know Joe. Let me tell you, this man would give the shirt off his back to help a total stranger. But last night he gave up more than that, he gave up his life."

"Somehow Joe made it to the kitchen. Most of you might not realize this but there is a door that he could have exited and saved his own life but not Joe. He grabbed a knife and went back out into danger to try and stop the shooter," said the Station Grill. "When I heard this, I was so upset but not surprised. I can ask myself 100 times. Why not leave Joe. Please take the door and you would be here. Joe would tell me that he would have to stop the shooter. That's Joseph Walker, the man that I know. Putting everyone first. He will alway be our hero."

Leroy Walker told MSNBC that it was not until 14 hours after the shooting that his family discovered his son's fate.

"None of us slept. We were up all night," said Walker. "We didn't know where to go, who to run to. They didn't notify any of us."

Finally, Walker's youngest son called him with the news.

"I almost fell to my knees," said the councilor. "I said, 'Don't tell me that.'"

Walker indicated his family is now "suffering and dying in a nightmare we don't understand," having lost "a great, great son, a loving husband."

"He had two grandchildren and a stepson," added Walker. "Thousands of people loved him. ... What are we gonna do tomorrow, the next day? How are we gonna handle this?"

Tricia Asselin, 53, was among the seven people slain at Just-In-Time Recreation in Lewiston. Although a part-time employee at the establishment, Asselin had the night off and was bowling with her sister Bobbi Nichols when the carnage began.

Nichols, who survived the massacre, told CNN, "We heard a loud noise and I wasn't sure what it was until I heard another shot and then I knew."

People began scrambling to escape the bowling alley amid the crackle of gunfire. In the chaos, Nichols said, "I couldn't see [Asselin] and everybody was running, and I got caught in people trampling."

Nichols indicated that after making it outside, "We just kept running and running and running. ... And it was dark out."

"I just ran as far as I could go until there was a fence and there were some trees and a bunch of us were hiding behind the trees wondering what was going on," said Nicholas.

Hours after police escorted the survivors out of the murky woods, Nichols said that "somebody came out and said that she called 911, and when she called 911 to save everybody, she lost her life because of it."

The New York Post reported that Asselin was a mother who worked three jobs.

"My sister's a hero," said Nichols. "She was a hero."

Asselin's brother DJ Johnson said, "If she there was an argument going on, she would be the one to calm everyone down. ... If somebody was having a bad day, she would be right on the phone to talk to you about it."

Upon learning Asselin had tried to call for help, Johnson said, "That was just her. She wasn't going to run. She was going to try and help."

Besides a tragic end, it appears many of the victims shared bravery in common.

Michael Deslauriers Sr. noted that his son, Michael Deslauriers II, was with "his dearest friend," Jason Walker, when they were "murdered last night at the bowling alley."

Deslauriers Sr. said that "they made sure their wives and several young children were under cover then they charged the shooter."

Also among the victims who have so far been identified:

  • 76-year-old retiree and well-loved volunteer bowling coach Bob Violette;
  • Peyton Brewer-Ross, a 40-year-old pipefitter and new father remembered for his good nature and sense of humor;
  • 44-year-old Bill Young and his 14-year-old son Aaron Young;
  • Bryan McFarlane, a dog-loving truck driver who had been participating in a deaf cornhole tournament at the bar;
  • 34-year-old Tommy Conrad, a manager at the bowling alley, who leaves behind a 9-year-old daughter;
  • Joshua Seal, a young father of four and an American Sign Language interpreter for the Pine Tree Society;
  • Ron Morin, remembered as "an upstanding man with a lot of joy in his heart," reported the Independent;
  • 42-year-old Arthur Strout, a father of five; and
  • Bill Brackett and Steve Vozzella, both of whom had been attending the deaf cornhole game.

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Maine massacre suspect may have escaped in a boat; US Coast Guard joins the hunt



The U.S. Coast Guard joined the hunt for the prime suspect in the Lewiston, Maine, massacre after his car was found near a boat launch on the Androscoggin River, roughly 10 miles away from where 18 people were fatally shot and 13 were left grievously wounded.

The Lisbon Police Department discovered the 40-year-old suspect's white Subaru Wednesday just before 10 p.m. at the Pejepscot Boat Launch in Lisbon.

The suspect is believed to own at least two means of traveling upriver to Merrymeeting Bay and thence to the Kennebec River: a 15-foot Bayliner boat, which is now unaccounted for, and a 2019 Sea-Doo personal watercraft, reported the Messenger.

As of Thursday evening, a Coast Guard vessel with a five-man crew was patrolling the Kennebec River, which could ultimately take the suspect to at least Moosehead Lake, some 170 miles away.

Chief Petty Officer Ryan Smith, the officer in charge of Station Boothbay Harbor, told the Messsenger the Coast Guard crew is searching the entire river for the suspect, who authorities noted is "armed and dangerous." However, the crew was focusing in particular on the northern shore of the waterway, closer to the Androscoggin River.

The Daily Mail reported that earlier Thursday, Maine State Police aircraft also scoured parts of the area in search of the suspect.

Rick Gadden, a longtime neighbor of the suspect, told the Daily Mail, "If he can do that to innocent people there is obviously a chance he can come get us. ... He knows this area like the back of his hand; if he doesn't want to be found he won't. He's a hunter."

Richard Goddard, familiar with the suspect's family, told the Messenger, "This is his stomping ground. He grew up here. He knows every ledge to hide behind, every thicket," referencing Bowdoin, one of the areas where police were searching.

The suspected shooter is an Army reservist with an active military ID who recently lost his job at a recycling center. Documents reportedly circulated by law enforcement indicate the suspect was committed to a mental asylum for two weeks this summer and had reported "hearing voices and threats to shoot up" a military base.

Robert Louden, a retired chief hostage negotiator for the New York Police Department, suggested to NBC News that "from that parking area where he dumped his car, there's four distinct possibilities: He killed himself. He got on a boat and went down that little river that’s there. He went into another car or motorcycle or something that was waiting for him. Or there's a hiking trail. He could be in the woods someplace."

The Maine State Police indicated that as of noontime Thursday, over 350 law enforcement personnel from all over the state were involved in the search for the suspect.

The FBI and the U.S. Border Patrol Tactical Unit are also attempting to locate the shooter, reported Fox News Digital.

Facing the prospect of an attempt on the part of the suspect to escape into Canada, authorities in the northern nation, which shares 18 official entry points with Maine, have issued an "Armed & Dangerous – Firearms lookout" alert, reported Newsweek.

Canadian police in the province of New Brunswick, which borders Maine, are also monitoring the situation. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police indicated they are "aware of the situation in Maine, and we are continuing to monitor it in collaboration with our law enforcement partners."

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At least 22 reportedly killed in Maine mass shootings



At least 22 people have reportedly been killed and many others injured during shootings Wednesday night in Maine.

"Law Enforcement is attempting to locate Robert Card 4/4/1983, as a person of interest regarding the mass shooting at Schemengees Bar and Sparetime Recreation this evening. CARD should be considered armed and dangerous. Please contact law enforcement if you are aware of his whereabouts," the Lewiston Maine Police Department wrote on Facebook. The post includes a photo of the man.

In a prior post, the department shared the image of a vehicle and asked anyone who recognized it to contact police. "It is believed that the front bumper may be painted black," the post noted.

A vehicle of interest has been found in Lisbon, Maine, Mike Sauschuck, commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, noted in a news briefing, according to CNN.

— (@)

NBC News reported that according to a Lewiston police source, at least 22 people were killed. Fifty to 60 individuals were wounded, the outlet reported, citing four law enforcement officials briefed on the issue.

Lewiston, Maine, city councilor Robert McCarthy told CNN that there 22 people are dead and that this information was "confirmed by the city administrator."

— (@)

"As our state mourns this horrific mass shooting, we appreciate the support we've received from across the country, including the call I received from President Biden offering assistance," a tweet on Republican Sen. Susan Collins' "@SenatorCollins" X account noted. The social media account states that "All tweets originate from the Press Office of Senator Susan Collins."

— (@)

Live: Maine police respond to active shooter situation www.youtube.com

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