Amid massive search for mass killing suspect, Maine residents remain behind locked doors

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Shocked and fearful Maine residents kept to their homes Friday as hundreds of heavily armed police and FBI agents searched intensely for Robert Card, an Army reservist authorities say fatally shot 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar in the worst mass killing in state history.

Much of Thursday's search focused on a large property belonging to one of Card's relatives in rural Bowdoin, where trucks and vans full of armed agents from the FBI and other agencies eventually surrounded a home. Concerned locals said Card could have the upper hand in navigating the rural, wooded area that he knows well.

The Cards have lived in Bowdoin for generations, neighbours said. Various members of the Card family own hundreds of acres in the area.

Richard Goddard, who lives on the road where the search took place, knows the Card family. Robert Card knows the terrain well, Goddard said.

"This is his stomping ground. He grew up here," he said. "He knows every ledge to hide behind, every thicket."

Card and anyone else inside the home were repeatedly ordered to surrender on Thursday. But hours later, after repeated announcements and a search, authorities moved off and it was still unclear whether Card had ever been at the location, state police said.

"You need to come outside now with nothing in your hands. Your hands in the air," police said through a loudspeaker. In most instances when police execute warrants — even for suspects wanted for violent crimes — they move quickly to enter the home.

Several homes were being searched and every lead pursued in the hunt for Card, a 40-year-old with firearms instructor. Authorities said he should be considered armed and dangerous and not approached.

Card is suspected of opening fire with at least one rifle at a bar and a bowling alley Wednesday in Lewiston, which is about 15 miles (24 kilometres) from Bowdoin and is Maine's second-largest city. The evening shootings killed 18 people and wounded 13 others, with three people still hospitalised in critical condition, authorities said.

The victims of the shootings include Bob Violette, 76, a retiree who was coaching a youth bowling league and was described as devoted, approachable and kind. Auburn City Councillor Leroy Walker told media outlets that his son, Joe, a manager at the bar and grill, died going after the shooter with a butcher knife. Peyton Brewer-Ross was a dedicated pipefitter at Bath Iron Works whose death leaves a gaping void in the lives of his partner, young daughter and friends, members of his union said.

The manager of the youth bowling league vowed that the league would survive despite the devastating grief members were feeling.

"The people we lost were not just random league bowlers, they were people who contributed significantly to the development of our sport and our experience," said Mark Fortier, who is also the manager of the Maine State US Bowling Congress.

Authorities have not said how many guns were used or how they were obtained.

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