The morning after Wednesday's mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, police are still looking for Robert Card, the main suspect in the shooting that left 18 dead and 13 others injured.
Police have warned that Card is believed to be armed and dangerous. A police bulletin said that Card is a firearms instructor and a member of the Army Reserves assigned to a training facility. Card enlisted in the Reserves in 2002 and served as a sergeant first class as a petroleum supply specialist.
Meanwhile, authorities have released images of a gunman going into a Lewiston bowling alley, where a number of people were reportedly shot.
Joshua Skule, president of Bow Wave and former executive assistant director for intelligence with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, said a lot of precautions would be taken in the search for Card.
"Considering this man is armed and dangerous, he has a military background and he has a high-powered rifle still on the run, so the FBI will bring a vast amount of resources," Skule said. "They have analytic resources, technical resources and other tactical support for this. Law enforcement in these whole situations works very seamlessly. They're setting up a command post, they're bringing all of their skill sets from the state, local, federal to bear on this. If need be, they'll bring in air assets, really just get this person in custody before any more harm is done."
As mass shootings rise nationally, Maine had been an exception
There have been nearly 2,000 mass shootings reported in the U.S. in the last three years, but only one had been reported in Maine before Wednesday.
Skule noted that the person in the photo "clearly has expert training."
"He is in a tactical stance," Skule said. "He came ready to conduct carnage and, and that's what he did. The fact that he's a firearms instructor and very adept with weapons is going to have a heightened awareness for law enforcement. So while they want to get him into custody very, very quickly, they're also going to have to be very methodical because of his proficiency, not just with weapons, but his military training."
As of Thursday morning, Lewiston and several surrounding cities were under a shelter-in-place order. Given the hours since Wednesday's shooting, it is unclear how far the suspect has gone, prompting law enforcement to expand their search.
"Right now, they're going through any digital media that would be his cellphone, his social media accounts, any computers that he left at his house," Skule said. "In addition, they're, they're looking, interviewing family, friends, associates, likely the doctors for where he was housed, anything that would give them an indication of where he may flee."
