Maine officials on Friday promised daily briefings on the hunt for mass shooting suspect Robert Card and the investigation into the shootings that killed 18 people at a bowling alley and a restaurant in Lewiston.
Michael Sauschuck, commissioner of the state Department of Public Safety, provided an overview of plans for the day as investigators respond to more than 530 tips received so far.
Sauschuck also said that shelter in place orders for Lewiston, Lisbon, Auburn, and Bowdoin were still in effect.
“That’s an ongoing conversation that we’re having every minute of every day,” he said. “They have not been changed at this time.”
Sauschuck said that investigators were be out in force at three primary locations — the Pejebscot landing boat launch where Card’s vehicle was found and the two shooting locations, Just-in-Time Recreation and Schmenegees Bar & Grill.
The boat launch, on the Androscoggin River, would see air and water teams, including divers and sonar, as investigators try to determine what happened to Card after he abandoned his Subaru Outback. As CrimeOnline reported, a gun was found in the vehicle, but that weapon has not yet been linked to the shootings.
Sauschuck said there would be activity at other locations as well and that it would involve a similar situation as seen at a home associated with Card in Bowdoin Thursday night — large police presence and loudspeaker announcements.
“We do look at all these situations as if the individual could be there,” he said.
Sauschuck declined to comment on concerns that Card’s mental health should have triggered Maine’s “yellow flag” gun law, as suggested by US Sen. Susan Collins, saying that would be part of the investigation but for now the focus was on “trying to bring him into custody.
Finally, Sauschuck said that reports 16 of the 18 victims had been identified and their families notified were incorrect. The number remains at eight.
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[Featured image: In this image taken from video, Just-In-Time Recreation in Lewiston, Maine, is shown on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. The bowling facility was the site of one of the two mass shootings in Lewiston on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi)]
