The perpetrator of the Maine massacre was found dead

The main suspicious of the two shootings that on Wednesday took the lives of 18 people in the American city of Lewiston (Maine), Robert Cardwas found dead this Friday by the authorities with a bullet wound self-inflicted wound to the head, as confirmed by the state governor, Janet Mills.

“I breathe a sigh of relief tonight knowing that Robert Card is no longer a threat to anyone"Mills said during a press conference called to give an update on the case. “I know that authorities continue to thoroughly investigate all the facts so that we can get what closure we can for the victims and their families,” she added.

The commissioner of Maine Department of Public Safety indicated that the body of the perpetrator of the massacre was found at 7:45 pm near the river Androscoggin. He declined to provide a specific address.

“All we can confirm is that he has died and there will be a press release”said a spokeswoman for the police department of the neighboring city of Lisbon.

Card's body was found near a recycling centerfrom whom he had recently been fired, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to information from the network cnn.

Nothing was known about the suspect since authorities published his photograph on social media on Wednesday and asked the public to share any information about his possible whereabouts with the police.

His car had been found in lisbona town about 12 kilometers from Lewistonwhere the slaughter.

Card was military in reserve40 years old, and had spent two weeks admitted to a psychiatric. Until now it was considered armed and dangerous.

Hundreds of agents participated in the search, which this Friday focused on the river next to which the vehicle was found, with divers, underwater robots and sonars.

Maine State Police, which is leading the investigation, released the names of the 18 fatalities of the shootings, including a teenager and his father and four deaf people.

The event has shocked Lewiston, a city of about 38,000 inhabitantsthe most populated in the state.

This Friday, the authorities of Maine They lifted the shelter order implemented in some parts of the US state after the shootings.

Hunting was prohibited in some areas of the state as of this Saturday and “until further notice,” according to the commissioner of the state. Department of Public SafetyMike Sauschuck, in a press conference collected by cnn. Specifically, hunting activities cannot be practiced in Lewiston, Lisbon, Bowdoin and Monmouth.

With the mass shooting of Mainethey are already 565 those perpetrated this year in the United States, according to the non-profit organization Gun Violence Archive (GVA), which compiles statistics on these types of incidents.

Seeking card It seemed about to end Thursday night, when police gathered in front of a house that belonged, according to a neighbor, to the suspect's family.

“Please come out”, the police officers repeated throughout the night through megaphones, “we would like to speak with you.” But the police left without making any statements to journalists.

Drones, helicopters and armored vehicles had been deployed in the surrounding area.

Educational centers and businesses closed their doors and the high school parking lot was taken over by police officers dressed in uniform and armed to the teeth.

In the facade of a shop, Jeremy Hiltza neighbor, put up a banner that reads: “Lewiston Strong” (Lewiston strong).

Seven people, one woman and six menthey lost their lives at the bowling alley, eight in the restaurant barabout twelve minutes away, and three wounded people eventually died in the hospital.

Witnesses who were at the Just-In-Time store described how customers were hiding under tables and in machines at the end of the tracks. “I threw myself on top of my daughter, and my mother on top of me,” Riley Dumont described to the network. ABC.

A photograph released by police showed a man dressed in a brown T-shirt entering the establishment, with a semi-automatic rifle over his shoulder.

“It's a dark day for Maine”he declared on Thursday morning Janet Millsgovernor of the state, when announcing the high number of victims.

President Joe Biden deplored an acttragic and meaningless” and ordered the national flag to be placed at half-mast on federal buildings.

“Once again, our nation is in mourning"said the president, demanding for the umpteenth time the Congress the ban on assault weaponsa point on which Democrats and Republicans have disagreed for decades.

Wednesday's massacre is the worst in the United States since the school shooting Uvaldein Texas, where a shooter killed 19 children and two teachers in May 2022.

Excluding suicides, more than 15,000 people have died from gun violence since the beginning of the year in the country, according to the non-governmental organization Gun Violence Archive.

(With information from AFP and EFE)