The suspected gunman who killed 18 people in the US state of Maine has been found dead.
A 48-hour manhunt was launched for Robert Card, 40, after a shooting at the Just-In-Time bowling alley and Schemengees Bar and Grille in Lewiston on Wednesday night.
Among those who were killed included Joshua Seal, a father-of-four, who was described by his wife as the “world’s best father”, and Bill and Aaron Young, a father and his 14-year-old son.
A further 13 people were injured, in what was the worst mass shooting in the state of Maine’s history.
The Androscoggin County sheriff’s office confirmed Card’s death in a post on social media, saying the suspect in the shooting “has been located and is deceased”.
It is believed Card died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, public safety commissioner Mike Sauschuck said at a late night news conference in Lewiston.
He said Card was found dead at around 7.45pm local time near the Androscoggin River in the Lisbon Falls area, which police were pictured searching on Friday.
The town of Lisbon is around a 15-20 minute drive from Lewiston, where the shooting took place.
Officials said a note addressed to Card’s son was found at a home associated with the suspect on Thursday. His mobile phone and a gun were also found in a white Subaru that was identified as belonging to him.
The search for the former army reservist spread across multiple locations in the state and involved at least 80 FBI agents and Coast Guard personnel.
Card was considered “armed and dangerous” with police advising the public not to approach him “under any circumstances”.
The US Army said Card was a petroleum supply specialist and Sergeant First Class – typically a senior non-commissioned officer rank – in the reserve.
He enlisted in December 2002, it added, saying he had no prior combat deployments.
An internal police notice said Card had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks this summer, saying he had reported hearing voices and had threatened to carry out a shooting at the military training base in Saco, Maine.
The note did not provide specific details about his treatment or condition.
During the intensive search for Card, authorities lifted a shelter in place order which had been in place for people living in the area on Friday evening.
Governor of Maine, Janet Mills, said she is “breathing a sigh of relief” to know the suspect is “not a threat” to anyone any more.
She said law enforcement will continue to investigate “all the facts” in order to bring some closure to the families of the victims.
With seven weeks to go until the US goes to the polls, Sky’s dedicated team of correspondents goes on the road to gauge what citizens in key swing states make of the choice for president.
This week they focus on the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
Mark Stone travels to Florida where the foiled attack took place, while James Matthews has been finding out more about the suspected would-be assassin in his hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina.
Plus, Martha Kelner attended a Trump town hall in Flint, Michigan, to hear him speak for the first time after the attempt on his life, and asked voters if it will impact the way they vote in November.
A previous Titan submersible dive to the Titanic was aborted due to an apparent mechanical failure, one of the mission’s passengers has said.
Fred Hagen had paid a fee to go on a dive in the Titan in 2021, two years before it imploded and killed all five passengers onboard.
He told a US Coast Guard panel investigating the tragedy on Friday that his trip was aborted underwater when the Titan began malfunctioning and it was clear they weren’t going to reach the Titanic wreck site.
“We realised that all it could do was spin around in circles, making right turns,” Mr Hagen said. “At this juncture, we obviously weren’t going to be able to navigate to the Titanic.”
He said the Titan resurfaced and the mission was scrapped.
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A Republican backed by Donald Trump in his bid to be North Carolina’s governor denied reports he called himself a “black nazi” on an online message board.
CNN reported Thursday that Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson posted racial and sexual comments on a pornography website more than a decade ago.
In a video posted on social media, the Republican nominee said he would not leave the race over “salacious tabloid lies”.
“We are staying in this race. We are in it to win it. And we know that with your help, we will.”
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Mr Robinson also referenced the CNN report and said: “Let me reassure you the things that you will see in that story – those are not the words of Mark Robinson.
“You know my words. You know my character.”
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The US outlet reported Mr Robson wrote of being aroused by a memory of “peeping” women in gym showers when he was 14.
He was also said to have used a racial slur when discussing civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr, referred to himself as a “black nazi,” and said: “I’d take Hitler over any of the shit that’s in Washington right now.”
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CNN said it matched details of the account on the pornographic website forum to other online accounts held by Robinson by comparing usernames, a known email address and his full name.
Sky News has not verified whether the account is linked to Mr Robinson.
Eight minutes after the report was published on Thursday, vice president Kamala Harris’ campaign started sharing videos of Donald Trump praising Mr Robinson.
One video from the campaign on X shows the former president at a March rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he called the lieutenant governor “Martin Luther King times two”.
“I think you’re better than Martin Luther King. I think you are Martin Luther King times two,” Mr Trump said.
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Scott Lassiter, a GOP Senate candidate in a swing district in the state, called on Mr Robinson to “suspend his campaign to allow a quality candidate to finish this race”.
Mr Trump’s campaign also appeared to be distancing itself from Mr Robinson.
The ex-president did not refer to the controversy when he addressed Jewish donors on Thursday night, instead vowing to be ‘the best friend Jewish Americans ever had”.