Authorities released new details Saturday about the note left behind by the man responsible for the Lewiston, Maine, mass shootings that left 18 people dead earlier this week.
Sources first told the NBC10 Boston Investigators that Robert Card — the subject of a dayslong manhunt that followed mass shootings at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley and Schemengees Bar and Grille — had been found dead on Friday night of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The news that the gunman was killed came after days of angst as an armed and dangerous man was unaccounted for after 18 people were killed and 13 injured.
Law enforcement officials had said earlier this week that a note as found in the shooter's home, though they did not say what the note said. At a Saturday morning press conference, Commissioner Michael Sauschuck of the Maine Department of Public Safety revealed the contents of the note, though he did not read it verbatim.
"There's been a number of completely legitimate questions about a note that was found in his residence. This is a paper-style note," Sauschuck said. "I'm not going to read it to you verbatim. What it is is it's a note to a loved one, and it is saying that 'This is the passcode to my phone, this is the bank account numbers,' and I wouldn't describe it as an explicit suicide note, but the tone and tenor is that the individual was not going to be around and wanted to make sure that his loved one had access to his phone and whatever was in his phone."
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"That's not uncommon in suicide situations," he said. "You get long notes, you get very set up scenarios."
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
Sauschuck said investigators are still working to get search warrants so they can get access to the shooter's phone and bank account information.
Overall, he said the shooter's family was very cooperative throughout the investigation and two-day manhunt.
