On October 26, Wednesday, at 6:56 p.m., law enforcement responded to a report of an active shooter at Sparetime Recreation, also known as Just-In-Time Recreation, a popular bowling alley located on Mollison Way in Lewiston. The incident was initially reported to the Auburn communications center by multiple 911 calls, stating that a man had entered Sparetime Recreation and started shooting.
At 7:08 p.m., there were further reports of a man shooting at Schemengees Bar & Grille on Lincoln Street, which resulted in additional calls to the communications center.
At 8:06 p.m., the police released an image of a suspect holding a rifle at the bowling alley, along with a photo of a white Subaru with a black bumper, possibly connected to the suspect. Shortly after, emergency alerts were sent out to residents in Auburn and Lewiston, advising them to shelter-in-place.
Reports of a shooting at the Walmart Distribution Center on Alfred A Plourde Parkway at 8:15 p.m. were later found to be false.
At 8:20 p.m., the Maine Department of Public Safety announced that Lewiston City Hall would serve as the staging area for police officers searching for the active shooter in the city.
The Lewiston Police Department received a call at 9:26 p.m., identifying the man in the released photos as Robert Card, a 40-year-old resident of Bowdoin.
At 9:56 p.m., a vehicle matching the earlier description was discovered at the Pejepscot Boat Launch on the Androscoggin River in Lisbon. The vehicle was confirmed to belong to Robert Card.
By 11 p.m., a Walmart spokesperson confirmed that there had been no shooting at their distribution center.
At 11:30 p.m., Commissioner Michael Sauschuck of the Maine Department of Public Safety stated that Robert Card, 40, from Bowdoin, was a person of interest in the shootings. However, Sauschuck declined to provide information about the number of casualties from the incident.
On Thursday, during the early morning hours, the search for Robert Card, 40, from Bowdoin, continued.
After 6 a.m., the police expanded the shelter-in-place order to include Bowdoin.
Just before 11 a.m., during a press conference, Governor Janet Mills, accompanied by law enforcement leaders, confirmed that the tragic incident resulted in the deaths of 18 individuals and left 13 injured. Seven people lost their lives at the bowling alley, while eight others died at the bar. Three additional individuals passed away in local hospitals.
At 1:55 p.m., residents in northern Sagadahoc and northern Androscoggin counties received phone alerts, notifying them that the shelter-in-place order had been extended to their areas. The alerts advised residents to ensure the security of their homes and vehicles.
At 4:47 p.m., multiple gunshots were heard for several minutes near a vacant home located at 911 Meadow Road in Bowdoin. Law enforcement officers were observed with drawn long guns on a structure in a large field adjacent to the property owned by Ryan and Katie Card. No vehicles were present in the driveway.
At 5:24 p.m., a neighbor of the aforementioned Bowdoin residence revealed that the house had been unoccupied for a while. They mentioned that Ryan and Katie Card, the brother and sister-in-law of the suspected shooter, used to live there but had not been present recently.
At 5:53 p.m., Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss clarified that the loud noises heard outside the Meadow Road home in Bowdoin were not gunshots, stating that it was a tactical operation.
