Sigh Of Relief In US City After Shooter Who Killed 18 Confirmed Dead

The residents of Maine, where a mass shooting left 18 people dead Wednesday evening, heaved a sigh of relief this morning after the suspect was confirmed dead following a two-day manhunt.

Robert Card, a 40-year-old Army reservist, is believed to be behind the mass shooting that unfolded in a bowling alley and a resto-bar in Lewiston city. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, said Maine public safety commissioner Mike Sauschuck.

Thirteen people were also injured in the rampage besides the 18 deaths.

Governor Janet Millis told a news conference that she could now breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that Robert Card is no longer a threat to anyone.

US Senator Susan Collins of Maine said President Joe Biden had called her to inform that the Lewiston perpetrator had been found. "Mainers can breathe a collective sigh of relief," she said.

Maine residents had not been sleeping peacefully since the shooting unfolded Wednesday evening. Kyle Green and his partner, who lived near Lewiston, "took turns" sleeping to keep watch until the morning. They told their children it's movie night, locked all doors and sat before the TV, wondering where the shooter could be hiding.

Card's body was found in Lisbon Falls, southeast of Lewiston, near a recycling centre where he used to work earlier and had lost his job, reported local media. It said he had been under psychiatric treatment after he claimed he was hearing voices. His fugitive status and the shooting had the city live in fear, with many deserting their houses to safe places.

Wednesday's mass shooting is one of the deadliest in the US since 2017 when 60 people were killed at a Las Vegas music festival.