We've wrapped up our live coverage for the day. You can read more here on the Maine mass shootings investigation.
Gunman from Maine shooting rampage found dead
By Adrienne Vogt and Matt Meyer, CNN
Updated 1:38 p.m. ET, October 28, 2023
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After gunman's death, work for law enforcement continues, sources say
From CNN’s Josh Campbell
Despite the discovery of the body of Maine mass shooter Robert Card, the work of local and federal investigators continues, law enforcement sources told CNN.
Authorities continue to establish a timeline from the period of the second and final attack until the suspect was found dead, said one senior source involved in the investigation. Although authorities have no indication any other individuals aided the suspect in his massacre, the source said, establishing a full “pattern of travel” is an important aspect of the investigation in order to formally assess that the suspect acted alone.
An FBI Social Media Exploitation team assigned to the case is currently reviewing the suspect’s social media footprint in order to identify a possible motive, additional attack plans, and any associates who may be witnesses in the investigation, another federal law enforcement source said.
The ATF is also working to determine whether a gun recovered in the suspect’s abandoned vehicle was the weapon used in the attack, a third law enforcement source directly involved in the investigation tells CNN. The source said authorities are presently comparing the firing pin and residue from that weapon with marks left on shell casings from the two attack locations.
Wife of Lewiston victim has "mixed emotions" about gunman's death
From CNN’s Andy Rose
The wife of one of the people killed in the Lewiston, Maine, shooting rampage says she is still processing the fact that the shooter is dead.
“I have mixed emotions about that,” Elizabeth Seal, wife of victim Joshua Seal, told CNN on Saturday.
Gunman Robert Card was found dead Friday night of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to authorities.
"First and foremost, I wanted him to be apprehended," she said, speaking to CNN through an American Sign Language interpreter. "I wanted to ask questions that will not be answered. 'Why did you do this? What was the motive? Why would you hurt so many families?'"
At least three of the 18 victims were part of the local deaf community, according to their families. Joshua Seal was the director of interpreting services for the disability advocacy group Pine Tree Society and frequently provided ASL interpretation for government press conferences in Maine, including during the Covid pandemic.
“Most of the state recognized him,” Elizabeth Seal said. “They saw him regularly.”
Seal said she had known her husband since they were both in preschool. While the shooter’s death leaves her without answers, Seal also feels relieved.
“It's important that he was found,” she said, “and he's gone."
Suspect’s family received threats despite cooperation with law enforcement, public safety commissioner says
From CNN’s Andy Rose
Maine’s top law enforcement official said the family of Robert Card, the suspect in the shooting rampage that left 18 people dead, has unfairly received threats due to Card’s actions.
“That family has taken a great deal of grief, to include threats,” said Commissioner of Public Safety Mike Sauschuck. “People hanging out at their houses and saying, ‘Do they know? Is it their fault?’”
Sauschuck said Card’s family has been “as a whole, very, very cooperative” throughout the investigation, and their assistance was critical to identifying Card, who was found dead Friday night of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“I think the first three people that called us to positively identify this individual based on the photos that were released were family members,” Sauschuck said.
Sauschuck declined to identify specifically how the family members who spoke to police were related to Card.
Trail connects location where suspected shooter’s vehicle was abandoned to place where his body was found
From CNN’s Andy Rose
The location where Lewiston shooting rampage suspect Robert Card abandoned his vehicle and the area where his body was found are connected by a trail, law enforcement said Saturday.
"There is a natural connection" between the Papermill Trail boat launch and the overflow parking lot of Maine Recycling Corporation, Maine Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck said.
He also confirmed "there was an employment relationship" between Card and the recycling center "at some point," but he did not know if Card was a current employee.
A law enforcement source told CNN’s John Miller that Card had recently been fired by the recycling company.
Sauschuck said two firearms were found alongside Card’s body, and he confirmed that police have concluded he shot himself. “When he took his own life, I don't have an answer to that,” the commissioner said.
Sauschuck added that it appeared Card was wearing the same sweatshirt as was seen in surveillance video of the shooting, suggesting he never changed his clothes.
Shooting suspect does not appear to have been forcibly committed for mental health treatment, official says
During the news conference, Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck said there are still questions around the motive of Lewiston shooting rampage suspect Robert Card.
"Clearly, there's a mental health component to this," he said.
Sauschuck said more research needs to be done in trying to get access to certain records on Card, as officials seek to answer more questions about his access to guns.
Sauschuck emphasized that the law makes a distinction between volunteering to seek mental health treatment and being forcibly committed — and a distinction between being required to receive a mental health evaluation, versus forced to receive treatment.
"We have not seen to this point, I have not seen to this point, that Mr. Card was forcibly committed for treatment. And if that didn't happen ... you can go into a firearms dealer who does all of their work, and the background check is not going to ping that this individual is prohibited," he said.
He added, "Just because there appears to be a mental health nexus to this scenario, the vast, vast, vast majority of people, the vast majority of people with a mental health diagnosis will never hurt anybody."
Some background: The gun that investigators believe Card used to kill 18 people and wound 13 others was purchased legally just days before he was hospitalized and ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation due to a mental health episode at a military base where he served, multiple law enforcement sources told CNN Friday.
Official describes note left by Maine shootings suspect that indicated he did not expect to be found alive
Officials shared more information Saturday about the note left behind by Maine shooting rampage suspect Robert Card, which a law enforcement official had previously told CNN indicated that Card did not expect to be found alive.
Card was found dead Friday after a more than 48-hour manhunt, following the shootings in Lewiston, Maine, which killed at least 18 people and wounded 13 others.
The note, a message left behind on a piece of paper at his residence, was addressed to a loved one and gave them the passcode to Card's phone and his bank account numbers, Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck said at a news briefing.
"I wouldn't describe it as 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," Sauschuck said.
Sauschuck said investigators are now working to get into the phone, but they have to obtain a special warrant in order to access it.
The commissioner also confirmed that a "long gun" was found inside the white Subaru owned by Card, which was found near a boat launch in Lisbon. Investigators are working to confirm that the gun was connected to the deadly shootings at a restaurant and a bowling alley.
Authorities found body of suspected shooter in unlocked trailer of recycling center overflow parking lot
Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck gave more details about where authorities found the body of Lewiston shooting rampage suspect Robert Card during a news conference on Saturday morning.
Sauschuck said Card's body was located in an unlocked box trailer in the overflow parking lot of the Maine Recycling Corporation, a facility in Lisbon.
He said that the recycling center had been cleared twice previously, but the owner had pointed out the trailers in the overflow area and asked authorities if they had cleared there.
The Maine State Police Tactical Team ultimately located Card's body in one of those trailers, he added.
Later in the briefing, Sauschuck said there are 55 to 60 trailers in the area, but police located the body in the first three trailers.
A law enforcement source previously told CNN that Card’s body was found near a recycling center from which he had recently been fired,
Sauschuck said law enforcement will process the recycling center scene throughout the day.
Officials will hold press conference soon
Authorities intend to release more information at a 10 a.m. ET press conference Saturday morning about suspect Robert Card and the investigation, they said.