The man suspected of killing 18 people and wounding 13 in a shooting rampage in the US city of Lewiston, Maine has been found dead in a recycling plant trailer after a 48-hour manhunt, police have said.
The body of 40-year-old Robert R Card was discovered at a recycling plant in Lisbon Falls where he worked at one point, less than a mile from where police had found his abandoned getaway vehicle shortly after his shooting spree on Wednesday night.
A Maine State Police tactical team discovered Card's body in an unlocked trailer in an overflow parking lot of the recycling plant, Maine Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck told reporters.
Officers had cleared the plant twice in the course of their search, Mr Sauschuck said, as they believed Card had some "employment relation" to the business, but had missed the extra parking lot, where about 60 box trailers full of crushed plastic and metal were parked, he said.
Officials said they recovered a long rifle in Card's abandoned white Subaru and two guns on his body, without confirming the make and model. All the weapons were apparently purchased by Card legally, a representative for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said.
A total of 18 people were killed and 13 others were wounded in Wednesday night's shooting, which began when the gunman opened fire with a rifle inside the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, then launched another attack minutes later at Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant a few miles away.
Officials have not confirmed a possible motive for the gun violence, but Mr Sauschuck said there was "a mental health component" to the tragedy.
Mr Sauschuck said police found a note left at Card's house ,addressed to a loved one, which listed the passcode to his phone and bank account information.
"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," Mr Sauschuck said.
The shootings and prolonged manhunt convulsed the normally bustling but serene community of Lewiston, a former textile hub and the second-most populous city in Maine.
The town lies on the banks of the Androscoggin river, about 56km north of the state's largest city, Portland, and nearly as far southwest of Maine's capital, Augusta.
Card, an army reserve sergeant from the nearby town of Bowdoin, has been described by authorities as a trained firearms instructor who served as a petroleum supply specialist when on duty at the military reserve base in Saco, Maine.
Law enforcement officials also said he has a history of mental illness and was committed to a psychiatric facility for two weeks during the summer of 2023, after which he was released.
Within hours of the shooting, police circulated surveillance camera photos from one of the crime scenes of a bearded man wearing a brown, hooded sweatshirt and jeans and carrying what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle.
Meanwhile, hundreds of officers from an array of agencies ranging from local police and sheriff's deputies to the FBI and US Coast Guard joined the search. Canadian authorities, including its border officers, were on alert.
The initial trail of clues led to Lisbon, about 11km southeast of Lewiston, where Maine State Police found a white SUV they believed Card used to make his getaway and parked at a boat launch on the river.
Public records showed Card owned at least one vessel made by Sea-Doo, a company known for its jet ski-style personal watercraft.
As part of the search, police trawled the waters of the Androscoggin river with divers and sonar yesterday, and sent teams of officers door-to-door in neighborhood canvasses seeking additional clues and possible eyewitnesses.
Earlier, Maine State Police lifted an order that had kept tens of thousands of people in their homes while the manhunt continued.
Victims honoured
Four of those killed belonged to the deaf community, Mr Sauschuck said, asking television cameras to include the American sign language interpreter at the press conference in their frames.
Nine deaf people were playing in a weekly tournament at Schemengees, the sister of one of the victims told the Lewiston Sun Journal.
Among them was 36-year-old Joshua Seal, the director of interpreting services for the Pine Tree Society, a non-profit organisation aiding people with disabilities, the Sun Journal reported, citing the group's president, Noel Sullivan.
Stephen Vozella, 45, was a postal worker and active member of New England Deaf Cornhole, the group said on its Facebook page, adding that a moment of silence would be held at an upcoming tournament.
Bryan MacFarlane, 41, an avid motorcyclist, was also part of the deaf cornhole tournament at Schemengees, his sister Keri Brooks told the Sun Journal.
Bill Young, 44, and his 14-year-old son Aaron were shot and killed while bowling together, Bill's brother Rob Young told Reuters.
Husband and wife Bob Violette, 76, and Lucille Violette,73, were also bowling together in a couples league when they were killed, the Sun Journal reported, citing his daughter-in-law, Cassandra Violette.
Tricia Asselin, 53, was a part-time worker at the bowling alley who was trying to call 911 when she was shot.
Joseph Walker, 57, was a manager at Schemengees, who stayed on the scene to help even though he could have escaped through a door near his office, his father, Leroy Walker, told Reuters.
"We were told that he picked up a butcher knife from the bar area where he was a lot of the time standing and went to attack the shooter," Mr Walker said, adding that the gunman then shot Joseph.
Additional reporting by Sean Whelan
