Maine shooting updates: Biden tells Lewiston ‘you are not alone’

Remembering the victims: Steven Vozzella

Steven Vozzella, 45, was also part of the gathering of deaf people playing cornohole at Schemengees bar that night.

His brother Nick Vozzella confirmed to ABC News that he was killed in the shooting. A tribute was paid to Mr Vozella was paid by the National Association of Letter Carriers, which said it was “heartbroken” by the news of his death.

A statement from NALC President Brian L Renfroe’s read: “Brother Vozzella was only 45 years old. He had much more life to live before it was stolen from him in an all-too-common senseless act of gun violence. Stephen was out enjoying a game of cornhole with friends on Wednesday evening.

“On behalf of NALC, I send my deepest sympathies to Brother Vozzella’s family, friends and colleagues. We mourn the loss of Stephen and all the innocent victims of this tragedy. Our hearts are with Stephen’s loved ones, all of those affected and the entire town of Lewiston.

Mr Renfroe added: “Any life lost to gun violence is one too many. The members of NALC and all Americans deserve to feel safe while on the job, spending time with their families and friends, and in their everyday lives.

“The epidemic of gun violence in this country must end. It is time for lawmakers to take action to protect Americans from the horrific incidents of gun violence that continue to traumatize communities and cause tragic loss of life across the country.”

The NALC is a union representing city delivery letter carriers employed by the US Postal Service.

President Biden addresses Lewiston

Speaking in Lewiston on Friday afternoon, Mr Biden began by saying, “Jill and I have done too many of these,” alluding to the horrific number of gun violence incidents across the country.

To the people of Maine, we “want to make sure you know you’re not alone,” Mr Biden said. “No pain is the same but we know what it’s like to lose a piece of our soul in the depths of the loss that’s so profound–some of us have been there.”

“This tragedy opens a painful wound across the country,” he continued. “Too many Americans have lost loved ones or have survived the trauma of gun violence.”

The president then urged the passage of gun safety legislation: “This is about commonsense, reasonable, responsible measures to protect our children, our families, our communities because regardless of our politics, this is about protecting our freedom to go to a bowling alley, a restaurant, a school, a church without being shot and killed.”

Robert Card ‘punched’ his fellow officer less than a month before shooting

In mid-September, an official at the Maine National Guard requested that the sheriff’s office conduct a wellness check on Card after he punched one of his fellow officers, prompting concern that he would “snap and commit a mass shooting.”

Card and one of his friends, a fellow soldier, were apparently driving home from a casino when Card “started talking about people calling him a pedophile again.”

Card said he owned firearms and was going “to shoot up” the drill centre at the base in Saco, among other places, the report states. The soldier also relayed that Card said he was going to “get them,” which was interpreted as the people who had him committed to a mental health facility.

Card apparently also blamed the soldiers, stating the reason he was unable to buy guns — following this two-week stay — was “because of the commitment.” The soldier then “told him to knock it off because he was going to get into trouble talking about shooting up places and people,” Card punched him.

This interaction prompted the Maine National Guard to request a welfare check.

• In May, family members contacted authorities, concerned about his mental health in combination with his possession of firearms.
• Months before the deadly attacks, Robert Card, a US Army reservist, was reportedly held in a mental facility for two weeks over the summer. He was taken by police in July for evaluation at the urging of concerned military officials. He was then released.
• In mid-September, a statewide awareness alert was issued after Card made threats against the base in Saco, Maine.
• Also in mid-September, authorities attempted to conduct a welfare check on Card after prompting from the National Guard after he “made threats to shoot up the Saco National Guard facility.”

Fast forward to Wednesday, 25 October…

• Minutes before 7pm on Wednesday night, shots were fired at Just-in-Time Recreation, a bowling alley on Mollison Way in Lewiston, Maine.
• At 7.08pm, multiple 911 calls reported an active shooter at Schemengees Bar and Grill on Lincoln Street, just four miles from the bowling alley.
• Just after 8pm, Maine State Police urged Lewiston residents to shelter in place. “Please stay inside your home with the doors locked. Law enforcement is currently investigating at multiple locations,” the department wrote.
• At 8.06pm, police released a photo of the shooter to the media, and an hour and a half later, the Lewiston Police Department received a call identifying the man in photos as Card. Among the first calls were from Card’s family members, officials revealed on Saturday morning.
• Two hours later, at 9.56pm, state police officers alerted that they had found a “vehicle of interest” in Lisbon at Pejepscot Boat Launch, prompting the shelter-in-place advisory to extend to Lisbon. The Lewiston Police posted a photo on Wednesday night of a white Subaru station wagon. That vehicle was registered to Card, police said. A long gun was found in the vehicle.
• By Friday evening, police had found Card’s body — in a box trailer in Maine Recycling Corporation’s overflow lot. Authorities believe he took his own life. It’s not entirely clear how Card wound up at the recycling facility, but it is believed that he walked from the boat landing via a trail that linked the two locations.

Remembering the victims: Ron Morin

Ron Morin’s family paid tribute to him in a Facebook post, writing: “Rest in Paradise, Ronnie. “This smile and your energy will forever be loved and missed.”

Morin’s relative Cecile Francoeur Martin told the Bangor Daily News that he was an “upbeat guy”.

“He was just always smiling, happy,” she said.

“Just one of those people that if you are having a bad day, he was going to make your day better just by his presence.”

Rosa Storer, a stylist at Taboo Hair Design in Lewiston where he had his hair cut for 25 years, called him “an upstanding man with a lot of joy in his heart”.

“He had the best jokes,” she added.

Gov Janet Mills announced the launch of an independent probe into the lead-up to the shooting after reporters demanded why the warning signs were missed

WATCH: Maine governor dismiss reporters’ questions about the ignored alarm bells

ICYMI: Card’s stint at a mental health facility

The next reported incident occurred on 15 July at West Point in New York.

On 15 July 2023, Card was staying at a motel near West Point with several other soldiers when they all went to a convenience store to get some beer, a sheriff’s county report said. That’s where Card accused three of his comrades of calling him a paedophile “and said he would take care of it.”

Card approached one of his long-term friends in the group, and is described as shoving him and telling the fellow soldier “to stop calling him a pedophile.” Card calmed down on the way back to the hotel, but echoed again that he would “take care of it.” When Card was “pressed about what he meant by that Card didn’t respond,” the report stated.

Card then locked himself in his motel room and didn’t respond when his comrades tried to engage with him. It wasn’t until the next day that other soldiers got a keycard to Card’s room, where he said that he “wanted people to stop talking about him.” When a soldier told him that no one was talking about him, he slammed the door in the soldier’s face, the report states.

The entire encounter prompted the officers to take him to a base hospital, where a psychologist determined he needed further treatment. He spent 14 days at Four Winds Psychiatric Hospital in New York, and then was released.

Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chair Mike Thompson and 116 other Democratic colleagues urged the new House Speaker to act on gun safety legislation