The Other McCain

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Mass Murder in Maine: At Least 22 Killed, Dozens Wounded, Suspect at Large

Posted on | October 25, 2023 | Comments Off on Mass Murder in Maine: At Least 22 Killed, Dozens Wounded, Suspect at Large

What is known so far via The Daily Mail (UK):

A massive manhunt is underway in Maine for an Army reserve firearms instructor who was sectioned this summer for mental health reasons, and is suspected of shooting dead 22 people on Wednesday night at multiple sites in Lewiston.
Robert Card, 40, from Bowdoin, Maine, was named by Maine state police as the a ‘person of interest’ in the shootings at a bowling alley, restaurant and Walmart distribution center.
He was sectioned after saying he was hearing voices, and threatening to shoot up his National Guard base in Saco, Maine.
Card was armed with an AR 15-style rifle with laser optics when he burst into the bowling alley at 7:15pm to begin his rampage.
He was driving a 2013 white Subaru: Eric Samson, sheriff of Androscoggin County, announced at 11:20pm that law enforcement officers have found the vehicle in Lisbon, about seven miles southeast of Lewiston – but Card was not inside.
Mike Sauschuck, a law enforcement spokesperson in Lewiston, said Card ‘is considered armed and dangerous.’ . . .
Lewiston city administrator has confirmed that 22 were dead, local councillor Robert McCarthy said, with 50-60 were injured. Maine’s hospitals said they were declaring a mass casualty event. The death toll, which could rise, is the largest from a mass shooting this year.
The three locations were Sparetime bowling alley; Schemengee’s bar and grill; and a Walmart distribution center – although a spokesman said that the shooting was not on the site itself.
McCarthy said he had been told that a children’s bowling party was taking place at Sparetime at the time. . . .

UPDATE: New York Post:

Robert Card, 40, was stationed out of Saco, Maine and reported “hearing voices” and threatened to shoot up the National Guard Base where he was stationed, the sources said.
Card, originally of Bowdoin, Maine, should be considered “armed and dangerous,” and was reportedly committed to a mental health facility over the summer and was released after a two-week stay, the sources added.

Why is it, when people start “hearing voices,” the advice they’re getting from these voices is never helpful? Like, the voices are never saying, “Have a beer, dude. Chill out a while. No biggie.”

UPDATE II: Various sources are saying that Robert Card is twice divorced, that one of his ex-wives had a restraining order against him, and that he is a registered sex offender. I haven’t been able to find this information in actual news reports from reputable outlets, and with the “fog of war” factor in the immediate aftermath of an incident like this, one should be cautious about such things. But there are enough people saying this stuff on blogs and social media that I thought I’d share it, with the caveat that it’s not officially confirmed. What is confirmed, at least to my satisfaction, is that this guy was daft, deranged, demented, berserk, bonkers, off his rocker, a few fries short of a Happy Meal and cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. And, of course,  Crazy People Are Dangerous.

UPDATE III: Y’know, it’s generally bad taste to try to score political points in the wake of an atrocity that has no obvious political point, but the gun-grabbers can’t resist, so it’s important to make this point:

It is clearly evident that Robert Card was what law-enforcement calls a “prohibited possessor.” In other words, he was violating existing law, and it is therefore foolish to suggest that some new gun-control law could have prevented this crime. But no one should expect logic or honest arguments from the enemies of the Second Amendment.



 

Category: Crime, Maine

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