Lewiston shooter found dead; Bates College student from Darien says shelter in place lifted

The man suspected of killing 18 and injuring 13 people in Lewiston, Maine was found dead Friday.

Robyn Karashik and Caren Pinto

Oct 27, 2023, 10:16 PM

Updated 426 days ago

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The man suspected of killing 18 and injuring 13 people in Lewiston, Maine was found dead Friday.
Officials in Maine asked for a moment of silence as they identified all 18 victims from the mass shooting -- they range in ages from 14 to 76 years old.
Many people stayed inside as officials searched for 40-year-old Richard Card, from Bowdoin, Maine.
Card, a U.S. Army reservist, was accused of fatally shooting 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar -- less than two miles down the road from Bates College.
Authorities searched through hundreds of acres of family-owned property, even sending dive teams in a river. They say Card was found with a fatal self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Students at Bates College remained sheltered in place since Wednesday night when they first got word of the mass shooting.
Caitlin Chan, of Darien, is a senior at Bates and co-captain of the ice hockey team. She says she had just gotten back to campus from practice and was in the cafeteria with her teammates having dinner when the news broke.
“There might have been like seven or eight of us that came from practice that had dinner together. I remember we were leaving between [7:30 p.m.] and [8 p.m.], we had heard that a shooting had happened and it was really close to campus,” says Chan. “I think at that time he was at the bowling alley, at Sparetime."
Chan and her teammates stayed in the cafeteria, checking in with loved ones.
“I felt like it was more my responsibility to make sure everyone was calm and reassured,” says Chan. “By hour two or three we were like okay this is very real. Between the eight of us we had one cell phone charger. So it was kind of a game of pass it around and see how long your phone could survive.”
She says she stayed on the second floor of the cafeteria for nearly 12 hours. She was able to get back to her dorm room around 7 a.m. Thursday. She also says the shelter in place order was rescinded Friday and she has since been able to walk around campus.
Chan says Bates and the surrounding communities feel like a second home after Darien.
“Couldn’t think of a better example of the community coming together,” says Chan. “Even though it’s hard, I think people are definitely managing and finding a way to do so.”