Robert Card may have targeted deaf people during mass shooting, believing they insulted him
Still-at-large Maine mass shooting suspect Robert Card appears to have targeted a deaf cornhole night during his deadly rampage.
Four of the eight killed at Schemengees Bar & Grille Wednesday night had attended a cornhole night for deaf people at the venue.
Card — an avid cornhole player — had recently suffered significant hearing loss and taken to wearing high powered hearing aids, his family told the Daily Beast following the massacre.
His sister-in-law Katie Card said he had become paranoid and thought he could the voices of people talking about him, including at the bar and bowling alley which were targeted, leaving 18 dead in total.
“He would get mad and claim that we didn’t believe him. We tried to listen to him and tell him that nobody was talking about him,” Katie told the Daily Beast.
“As the story was unfolding, we prayed that Rob had nothing to do with this. But when we heard the two places where the shooting happened, my husband rushed home.”
Footage of US Army reservist and former recycling plant worker Card playing cornhole was published by Inside Edition, along with a social media post by a regular at the bar after the shooting, who wrote: “I cannot believe we all played cornhole with that guy all last winter. I am so glad none of us were at the tournament tonight.”
Of the victims at Schemengees, Steven Vozzella and Bryan MacFarlane, 40, have been confirmed as members of the deaf community, while Joshua Sealworked as an American Sign Language interpreter for the Pine Tree Society.
Bill Bracket was also taking part in the tournament and was killed, although it is not clear if he was also part of the community.
Card’s family say he had recently struggled, that “he truly believed he was hearing people say things,” and “this all just happened within the last few months.”
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Card is shown on security camera walking into the Just-In-Time Recreation Bowl in Lewiston shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday and opening fire with an assault rifle.
Minutes later, he allegedly struck at Schemengees Bar & Grille about four miles away, killing people inside and out.
How the Maine shooting unfolded<br>
First reports of active shooter
Wednesday, 6:56 p.m.: Police responded to multiple reports of an active shooter at Just-In-Time Recreation, a bowling alley in Lewiston shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday, Col. William Ross of the Maine State Police said.
Second location reported
7:08 p.m.: Law enforcement received several calls reporting a gunman at Schemengees Bar & Grille about four miles away from Just-In-Time, Ross explained.
First photos of suspect emerge
8:00 p.m.: The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office released a grainy image of the then-unidentified suspect clutching what appeared to be an AR-15 assault rifle at Just-in-Time on Facebook, asking the public to come forward with any information.
Shelter-in-place issued
8:09 p.m.: The Maine State Police issued a warning about an active shooter in Lewiston, and urged locals to shelter-in-place, CNN reported.
Police in the neighboring city of Auburn issued a shelter-in-place alert a few minutes later.
9:17 p.m.: Lewiston police released a photo of a white Subaru with a black bumper, and asked the public to alert them if the car was seen.
Suspect identified
9:26 p.m.: The Lewiston Police Department received a call identifying the suspect as Army Reservist Robert Card, 40, of Bowdoin, the Lewiston Sun Journal reported.
9:56 p.m.: A Subaru matching the previously-released photo was found at the Pejepscot Boat Launch on the Androscoggin River in Lisbon, just outside of Lewiston, according to the Sun Journal.
Manhunt
10:52 p.m.: The Lewiston police announced on Facebook that they were seeking Robert Card as a person of interest connected with the shootings.
The public was warned that Card should be considered “armed and dangerous.”
Thursday, after 6 a.m.: After searching unsuccessfully for Card through the night and early morning, police expanded the shelter-in-place order to the Bowdoin area.
Officials confirm death toll
10:30 a.m.: Gov. Janet Mills and other officials addressed the public at a press conference.
Mills and law enforcement leaders confirmed that 18 people were killed and 13 more injured.
Late morning: Leroy Walker told NBC News that his son, Schemengees bar manager Joseph Walker, was killed in the shooting.
2 p.m.: The US Coast Guard confirmed that they were looking for Card and that he may have attempted to escape in a 1989 Bayliner Marine corp 15′ fiberglass boat which public records show he owned.
As well as the 18 killed, another 13 were injured by gunfire — including a 10-year-old girl.
Members of the deaf community say the murders hit them particularly hard.
“We are a community, a tight-knit community, and support one another, and it’s devastating to know that we have lost some of our most valued, most cared for, and cherished individuals within our community,” interpreter Regan Thibideau said, according to Fox 23.
Deaf actress and activist Marlee Matlin also expressed her grief for the community in a post on X.
“Mass shootings are horrible, but yesterday’s strikes the deaf community everywhere especially hard,” she wrote Thursday.
“When mass shootings affect a tightly knit community like ours, it shows that NO ONE is immune to such horrific violence,” Matlin explained.
“My heart hurts for everyone.”
