He was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, but he still owned a gun

A gunman armed with an AK-15 rifle shot 18 people and wounded 13 others in Lewiston, Maine, before killing 

himself near a recycling plant where he once worked.4

Robert Card was found dead, the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Friday.

The gunman’s body was found by law enforcement near a recycling plant in the Lisbon area, multiple law enforcement sources confirmed to CBS News.

Card died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Mike Sauschuck, commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, said in a news conference Friday night. 

Sauschuck said the body was located at about 7:45 p.m. local time near the Androscoggin River in Lisbon, a town about 8 miles southwest of Lewiston. 

Card’s death was pushed off the front page by the death of actor Matthew Perry, one of the stars of television sitcom “Friends,” who was found dead in the hot tub of his Malibu home.

Card, 40, spent time in a psychiatric hospital, which President Ronald Reagan closed between 1981 and 1989 to reduce costs as part of a massive deinstitutionalization effort. Reagan indicated that care could be provided by smaller community-based clinics, though these services were generally not available and were not widely funded later.

Officials said Card had mental health issues and had recently said he heard voices. At one point, he allegedly threatened to ‘shoot up’ the base where he was stationed.

A New York National Guard spokesman said that on July 16, they received a report from leaders at the Camp Smith Training Site in Cortlandt, citing concerns about Card’s instability. 

Card was reportedly “behaving erratically” at the New York facility.

“Out of concern for his safety, the unit requested that law enforcement be contacted. New York State Police responded and transported Card to Keller Army Community Hospital at the United States Military Academy for medical evaluation,” the spokesman said.

Card spent two weeks at the facility and was subsequently released, evidently free to keep his gun or to obtain one. This is unlike cops dragging Black men from their cars and demanding to know if have dangerous weapons or drugs.

Police said the target of the manhunt was Schemengees Bard and Grille and Just-In-Time Recreation, a bowling alley, places Card had frequented previously.

Schemengees Bar and Grille posted on their Facebook page: “My heart is crushed. I am at a loss for words. Your world turns upside down in a split second for no good reason. We lost great people in this community. How can we make any sense of this? Sending out prayers to everyone.”

Lewiston is the second-largest city in Maine, with a population of about 40,000 people, and is about 40 miles from Portland. Lewiston is a former mill town that has struggled with economic challenges in recent years. 

The city has a diverse population, boasting many immigrants from Somalia and a sizable population of French Canadians.

In 2022, there were a total of 29 homicides in all of Maine, with 15 of those being domestic cases.