The man suspected of killing 18 and injuring 13 in two mass shootings in Lewiston was never involuntarily committed for mental health treatment and would not have been prohibited from owning a firearm, law officials said Saturday morning.
Robert R. Card II’s body was found in a trailer at the recycling center where he once worked after multiple police searches of the facility, Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck told reporters Saturday. The specific trailer Card’s body was found in had not been searched.
Police are still investigating a motive, but police do not have any information about any “forcible” mental health treatment that could have triggered Maine’s yellow flag law, Sauschuck said.
“I have not seen that Card was forcibly committed for treatment. If that didn’t happen, then the background check is not going to ping that this person is prohibited,” he said.
The Maine State Police’s tactical team found Card’s body at 7:45 p.m. in a box-like trailer at the Maine Recycling Corporation at 61 Capital Ave., Sauschuck said.
That particular location was cleared twice before the body was found, Sauschuck said. The owner of the property gave police tips and pointers of where to look because he knew Card worked there, Sauschuck said. He did not know Card’s employment status at the time of the shootings.
Card appears to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Sauschuck said, and was found with multiple guns around him.
Police will continue processing the scene where Card was found and the shooting scenes through the weekend. The command post is transitioning back to the Lewiston Police Department.
Overall, police received more than 800 tips during the course of the manhunt, he said. Police also got more than a dozen impounded search warrants that will eventually be made public, Sauschuck said.
An assistance center is set up at the Lewiston Armory at 65 Central Ave. and is meant to be a place for victims and their families. It is open for people who were at either of the locations whether or not they were injured, he said.
The media will not be allowed to enter the center. The space opened this morning at 10 a.m. and will close at 7 p.m.
There is a separate location for community members to gather at the Ramada Inn in Lewiston. That center is available to anyone who may be struggling in the wake of the mass shootings, Sauschuck said.
“The entire city is a scene,” Sauschuck said.
