Maine shooting suspect found dead after massacre that left 18 dead, ending a 2-day-long manhunt: reports

• Robert Card, 40, of Bowdoin, Maine, was a person of interest in Wednesday's Lewiston, Maine, shooting.
• A nearly 2-day-long manhunt for Card ended Friday, authorities told CNN.

The search for a suspected gunman who police say killed 18 people in a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, ended after authorities found him dead, officials said in a press conference Friday.

Robert Card, 40, of Bowdoin, Maine, was found dead in Lisbon, Maine, Gov. Janet Mills said during the conference. State police didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

The suspect's body was found with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, State Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck told reporters.

Sauschuck declined to state the exact location Card's body was found but stated he was located near a river in Lisbon Falls.

Authorities briefed on the situation told The New York Times that Card was found near Maine Recycling, where the suspect used to work. The center is located next to the Androscoggin River.

The owner of the recycling center, Leo Madden, confirmed to the Times that Card was a former employee and that his "demeanor at Maine Recycling was no different from anybody else."

Card was a firearms instructor believed to be in the US Army Reserve and had been at large since the shooting late Wednesday night at a bar and bowling alley in the small Maine town.

Police asked residents to shelter in place in Maine cities, including Lewiston, Lisbon, and Bowdoin, as authorities searched for the suspect. The Canada Border Services Agency issued an "armed and dangerous" alert to its officers stationed along the Canada-US border, and the Coast Guard sent out a patrol boat Thursday morning along the Kennebec River.

Lewiston Police Department published photos of the suspect holding a weapon inside a business establishment at about 8 p.m. on Wednesday. Authorities noted at the time that the suspect was still at large.

The shootings occurred at Just-in-Time Recreation bowling alley and Schemengees Bar & Grille about four miles away, authorities said.

Seven people died at the bowling alley, and eight more people died at the bar, according to The Associated Press. Three others died in the hospital.

The youngest victim included 14-year-old Aaron Winthrop, who died at Just-in-Time Recreation while playing for a youth bowling league. His father, Bill, also died in the shooting, The Associated Press reported.

The oldest victim, Bob Violette, was 76. He and his wife, Lucille, 73, died at the bowling alley. The husband was a volunteer coach for a youth bowling league.

Victims, according to the Maine Department of Public Safety, also include Ronald G. Morin, 55; Peyton Brewer-Ross, 40; Joshua A. Seal, 36; Bryan M. MacFarlane, 41; Joseph Lawrence Walker, 57; Arthur Fred Strout, 42; Maxx A. Hathaway, 35'; Stephen M. Vozzella, 45; Thomas Ryan Conrad, 34; Michael R. Deslauriers II, 51; Jason Adam Walker, 51; Tricia C. Asselin, 53; William A. Young, 44; William Frank Brackett, 48; and Keith D. Macneir, 64.

Maine's gun laws are among the most relaxed of any state. The state has a long-standing culture of hunting and sport shooting, and more than half the households in the state have firearms, the Boston University School of Public Health found in 2022.

The state doesn't require a permit to carry firearms and allows both open and concealed carry. It also doesn't require background checks on gun sales and doesn't ban high-capacity magazines.

"Lewiston is a special place," Gov. Mills said during the Friday conference. "This isn't us."

This story is developing. Check back for more information.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.