The man who allegedly left 18 people dead and many more injured in a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine last Wednesday has been found dead following a two-day-long manhunt that spanned much of southern Maine. The shooting was the deadliest in America since 21 people were killed in Uvalde, Texas in May of 2022. 

The suspected shooter, Robert R. Card Jr, a Maine local, was found dead at a former place of employment of an apparent self-inflicted gun wound. He was found with a note that was described by a Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner as “not an explicit suicide note, but the tone and tenor was that the individual was not going to be around and wanted to make sure that this loved one had access to his phone and whatever was in his phone.” Investigations are still ongoing, but there have been alleged concerns with his mental health in the past that are being considered. 

The end to the manhunt has eased lockdowns in much of the surrounding area, bringing relief to many locals and officials, as the suspect was at large between the shooting Wednesday night and the discovery of his body Friday night. Maine is known for its long, freezing winters, so locals say it was a relief to be free to safely go outside and enjoy the rare sunny weather on Saturday following the end of the search.

The shooting took place in two locations, a bowling alley and a bar. According to a Maine State Police officer, seven people were killed at the bowling alley, eight at the bar, and three passed away in the hospital. Currently, eight victims remain hospitalized, five in stable condition and three in critical condition. 

Elected officials have had varying responses to the event, with some leaning into support of a ban on assault weapons and some declining to back such efforts. Following the shooting, which occurred in a part of his district, Democratic Representative Jared Golden of Maine reversed his long-held stance against a ban of assault rifles. “The time has now come for me to take responsibility for this failure,” he said at a news conference. “Which is why I now call on the United States Congress to ban assault rifles like the one used by the sick perpetrator of this mass killing in my hometown.”