The suspect in the Lewiston, Maine, mass shooting is an Army reservist with weapons training who has received multiple medals for his service since 2002, a government official confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Robert Card, who police have named as the suspect in the Wednesday mass shooting that killed 18 and wounded 13, is a first class sergeant in the Army who serves as a petroleum supply specialist with the Army Reserve, an Army official told the DCNF. Card has served in the Army since December 2002 but has had no combat deployments during that time.
Card received several awards for his service, including the Army Achievement Medal, two Army Reserve Component Achievement Medals, a Humanitarian Service Medal, a National Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon, according to the Army official. The Army declined to comment on if Card has struggled with mental health in the past.
“None of this seems real, but unfortunately it is,” Just-In-Time Recreation, a bowling alley that was the location of the first mass shooting attack, wrote on Facebook on Thursday. “We are devastated for our community and our staff. We lost some amazing and whole hearted people from our bowling family and community last night. There are no words to fix this or make it better. We are praying for everyone who has been affected by this horrific tragedy. We love you all and hold you close in our hearts.”
“My heart is crushed. I am at a loss for words,” Schemengees Bar and Grille, the location of the second mass shooting attack, wrote on its Facebook page. “In a split second your world gets turn upside down for no good reason. We loss great people in this community. How can we make any sense of this. Sending out prayers to everyone.”
Two former service members who served with Card at different times said that Card is a “nice guy” and “a rational, understanding person,” CNN reported. Clifford Steeves, one of the service members who said he had previously served with Card, said that Card was one of the best shooters in their unit and described him as an “outdoors type of guy.”
Law enforcement officials emphasized at a press conference on Thursday that this is an ongoing homicide investigation in its early stages and declined to comment on if there might have been a motive in this attack.
The Lewiston Police Department and the Maine State Police did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with the latest developments.
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