He opens fire with an AR-15 style rifle in three different areas of Lewiston, Maine’s second largest city, and causes a massacre. The provisional budget is at least 22 dead and 50-60 injured but, sources close to the police warn, it could get worse in the next few hours. The attacker, identified as 40-year-old Robert Card, a former military weapons instructor, is still on the run and the police, with the help of the FBI, are engaged in a relentless manhunt. Residents have been ordered to stay indoors and lock themselves inside because the attacker is “armed and dangerous”.
The alarm went off around seven in the evening: Since then, dozens of agents have been searching what until recently was considered a quiet Maine town of 40,000 inhabitants. «Please stay at home. If you see suspicious activities or individuals, call 911″, is the message immediately released by the police, who also published a photo of the armed attacker and an image of his car, a white Subaru Outback, hoping that someone will recognize him and facilitate the capture. Card still remains affiliated with the Army in the reservists and He had recently had some mental problems, for which he would be hospitalized for two weeks in the summer before being discharged. Lately, according to rumors, he would lose his job.
The attacker opened fire – according to local media reports – in three different areasand: at a bar-restaurant, Schemengees, at a Walmart distribution center and at the Just-In-Time bowling alley where, according to rumors, a children’s party was taking place. Information which, if confirmed, would make the shooting even more serious. As the manhunt continues, Lewiston says schools will be closed Thursday as a precaution. Maine Governor Janet Mills is closely following developments in the situation and urges citizens to follow the instructions of law enforcement. President Joe Biden, during the state dinner for the Prime Minister of Australia Antony Albanese, was informed of the massacre and, in a conversation with the governor, offered all the federal support necessary in light of a “terrible” attack. The incident is destined to reignite the debate on guns in the United States.