Maine shooting: 20 feared dead as police hunt for suspect Robert Card

Published

2 years ago

October 26, 2023

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At least 20 people are feared to have been killed after a shooting in the US state of Maine, with the suspect – a firearms instructor – still at large.

Authorities in Lewiston are investigating “two active shooter events” and have warned people to stay inside, away from windows, with doors locked.

Follow live: Manhunt in Maine

Police have released images of a man with a military-style assault rifle in a bowling alley and say they are looking for “armed and dangerous” Robert Card.

The 40-year-old, with 20 years military service, worked as an army firearms instructor and recently spent time at a mental health facility after hearing voices, according to an internal police notice.

Police officers, many armed with rifles, have taken up positions across the city, and roads have been shut as the manhunt continues.

According to law enforcement sources, between 15 to 20 people are believed to have been killed.

NBC News earlier reported 22 fatalities, citing a Lewiston police source.

As many as 50 people are also said to have been injured, not all of whom were shot. Some reportedly had injuries from a stampede.

Police say the shootings happened at about 7pm on Wednesday at Schemengees Bar and Grille and Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley – which are situated about four miles apart.

They also posted a photo of a white Subaru they want to find out more details about, which was later found in the nearby town of Lisbon where residents have also been told to stay at home.

One witness, who identified himself only as Brandon, was at the bowling alley and described how the gunman appeared “out of nowhere” and was “15 feet behind me” when he heard “a loud pop” and the first of several gunshots.

“As soon as I turned and saw it was not a balloon and he was holding a weapon, I just booked it down the lane,” he said.

“I slid basically into where the pins are and climbed up into the machine, and was on top of the machines for about 10 minutes before the cops got there.”

He was among survivors who were driven to the neighbouring city of Auburn to be reunited with family and friends.

I was putting on my bowling shoes when when it started. I’ve been barefoot for five hours,” he added.

Sky’s US correspondent Martha Kelner said the owner of the bowling alley says it was packed at the time with at least 100 people, including around 20 children.

Central Maine Medical Center referred to a “mass casualty, mass shooter event” but did not give numbers.

Off-duty staff, doctors and nurses have been asked to come in to work to deal with the number of casualties.

Hospitals as far away as Portland, about 35 miles to the south, have been placed on alert to potentially receive victims.

Maine’s public health commissioner, Mike Sauschuck, confirmed multiple casualties but also said he didn’t have a precise figure.

He said “hundreds” of police are looking for “person of interest” Robert Card.

Kelner said information released by officials suggested the gunman was a member of the US Army Reserve suffering from mental health issues, who had threatened to carry out a shooting at a training facility in Saco, Maine, which he was assigned to.

“Questions will come down the road about just why and how he was able to maintain ownership of such a powerful weapon,” she said.

Read more: What we know about Maine shooting suspect

President Joe Biden has been briefed and spoke to the state’s governor to offer full federal support, the White House said.

Governor Janet Mills echoed police instructions for residents to stay off the streets and businesses to lockdown or close until authorities give the all-clear.

Superintendent Jake Langlais said schools would be shut on Thursday, adding: “Stay close to your loved ones. Embrace them.”

The mayor of Auburn – located just across the Androscoggin River – told reporters witnesses “of all ages” including teenagers are being interviewed at an undisclosed safe location.

Jason Levesque added families gathering at a school in the city are being told whether their loved ones, who had been at the bar and bowling alley, are among the casualties.

“There’s fear, there’s panic,” he said, adding: “Something like this doesn’t just get solved overnight and nobody can expect it to. But we’ve got a really strong community. We’ve overcome a lot and we’ll overcome this.”

Who is ‘person of interest’ Robert Card?

A bulletin put out by the Maine Information and Analysis Center, a database for law enforcement officials, said 40-year-old Card is a trained firearms instructor and was believed to be in the Army Reserve.

It added that law enforcement said Card “recently reported mental health issues to include hearing voices and threats to shoot up the National Guard Base in Saco, Maine”.

The bulletin said Card was reported to have been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks this summer and then released.

Sky News has not been able to independently verify the bulletin’s statements about Card’s history.

Lewiston is a city of about 35,000 people in the far northeast of the US.

Maine has one of the lowest per capita murder rates in America, with state police recording only 29 homicides in 2022.

Before Wednesday’s incident, the deadliest US mass shooting of 2023 was in Monterey Park, California, where 11 people were murdered during a Chinese New Year event.

World

US hails ‘tremendous progress’ on Ukraine peace plan – but says negotiators ‘need more time’

Published

13 hours ago

November 23, 2025

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US hails 'tremendous progress' on Ukraine peace plan - but says negotiators 'need more time'

The US secretary of state has hailed a “tremendous amount of progress” on peace talks after the US and Ukraine delegations met in Geneva – but said that negotiators would “need more time”.

Marco Rubio said the meetings in Switzerland on Sunday have been “the most productive and meaningful” of the peace process so far.

He said the US was making “some changes” to the peace plan, seemingly based on Ukrainian suggestions, “in the hopes of further narrowing the differences and getting closer to something that both Ukraine and obviously the United States are very comfortable with”.

Mr Rubio struck an optimistic tone talking to the media after discussions but was light on the details, saying there was still work to be done.

“I don’t want to declare victory or finality here. There’s still some work to be done, but we are much further ahead today at this time than we were when we began this morning and where we were a week ago for certain,” Mr Rubio said.

He also stressed: “We just need more time than what we have today. I honestly believe we’ll get there.”

Sky News’ defence analyst Michael Clarke said on the initial US-Russian 28-point peace plan that it was Donald Trump against the world, with maybe only Moscow on his side.

Mr Rubio praised the Ukrainian attitude towards the talks and said Mr Trump was “quite pleased” after he previously said in a social media post that Ukraine’s leaders had expressed “ZERO GRATITUDE” for US efforts.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Sunday that there are signs that “President Trump’s team hears us”.

In a news release on Sunday evening, the White House said the day “marked a significant step forward”.

“Ukrainian representatives stated that, based on the revisions and clarifications presented today, they believe the current draft reflects their national interests and provides credible and enforceable mechanisms to safeguard Ukraine’s security in both the near and long term,” it claimed.

Despite diplomatic progress in Geneva the finish line remains a long way off

John Sparks

International correspondent

@sparkomat

We’ve witnessed a day of determined and decidedly frantic diplomacy in this well-heeled city.

Camera crews were perched on street corners and long convoys of black vehicles swept down Geneva’s throughfares as the Ukrainians worked hard to keep the Americans on side.

Secretary of state Marco Rubio did not want to go into details at a press “gaggle” held at the US Mission this evening, but he seemed to think they had made more progress in the last 96 hours than the previous 10 months combined.

The Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy also seemed satisfied enough, posting on Telegram that there were “signals President Trump’s team is hearing us” after a day of “numerous meetings and negotiations”.

That said, we are a long way from the finish line here – something Rubio acknowledged when he said that any proposal agreed here would have to be handed over to the Russians.

At that point, negotiations to stop the war would surely get tougher.

President Putin has shown little or no inclination to stop the conflict thus far.

This, then, is the most important reason the Ukrainians seem determined to keep the Americans on side.

European leaders have presented a counter proposal to the widely criticised US-Russian peace plan, with suggestions including a cap on Ukraine’s peacetime army and readmitting Moscow into the G8.

This will only take place if the plan is agreed to by the US, Russia and Ukraine, and the G7 signs off on the move. Russia was expelled after annexing Crimea in 2014.

The counter proposal also includes US guarantees to Ukraine that mirror NATO’s Article 5 – the idea that “an armed attack against one NATO member shall be considered an attack against them all”.

The initial peace plan was worked up by the White House and Kremlin without Ukraine’s involvement, and it acquiesces to many of Russia’s previous demands.

It covers a range of issues – from territorial concessions to reconstruction programmes, the future Ukrainian relationship with NATO and the EU, and educational reforms in both Ukraine and Russia.

World

Fierce battle for frontline towns where Ukraine’s soldiers are surrounded

Published

22 hours ago

November 23, 2025

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Fierce battle for frontline towns where Ukraine's soldiers are surrounded

Footage geolocated by Sky News showed Russian soldiers walking through the Shakhtarskyi neighbourhood on the outskirts of Pokrovsk on Thursday.

The video sheds light on the situation in this key frontline area, as Russian forces slowly encroach on Myrnohrad, the satellite town to Pokrovsk, and one of its last remaining outposts.

Videos geolocated by Sky News show fighting intensifying in recent weeks, as Russian forces attempt to gain control of the towns and their network of road and rail intersections.

Gaining control here would give Russia a base from which to access key cities further north that form part of Ukraine’s “fortress belt”.

Russian forces are advancing from all directions, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), with only one small opening to the northwest of Myrnohrad remaining.

Estimated to be only 3km wide by military experts, this withdrawal corridor is patrolled by Russian drone units which monitor the area for moving vehicles and those who may attempt to leave on foot.

Russian forces have been advancing on Myrnohrad since late October.

Video from a Ukrainian unit in Myrnohad, posted on 29 October, shows a Russian vehicle attempting to enter the town from the northeast. The tank is attacked and soldiers attempting to enter on foot are targeted.

Video posted on 3 November shows Russian forces on the ground in the south of the town.

By 8 November, Russian strikes begin to pummel the northeast of Myrnohrad, the location of many of the town’s high-rise buildings, at that time, held by Ukrainian forces.

George Barros, Russia Team & Geospatial Intelligence Team Lead at ISW, told Sky News that Russian strategy in Pokrovsk has been to erode Ukrainian logistical capacity using drones and artillery over the course of several months.

“After denying supply lines and degrading the frontline forces by essentially cutting them off from behind and starving them out in their positions, then the Russians move forward with their infantry and frontal assaults,” Barros explained.

Capture the flag

For a brief period, it looked as though Russian forces had captured Myrnohrad.

Videos posted on 13 November appeared to show a Russian flag flying over the Myrnohrad mine.

However, video posted the following day showed a Ukrainian drone shooting it down.

Both Russian and Ukrainian forces continue to fight for control of Myrnohrad, with videos posted on the 19 and 20 November showing Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian positions in the town, and Ukrainian drone strikes targeting Russian forces on foot.

While the exact numbers of Russian and Ukrainian forces in the area remains unclear, reports indicate that three key Russian units are active in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, and are advancing on the towns from the north and south.

A number of Ukrainian units remain inside the towns, including the 145th Assault regiment and the 32nd, 35th, 38th and 155th Brigades. Reports indicate that more Ukrainian units have been moved into surrounding areas to hold the withdrawal corridor open.

Sky News reached out to the Ukrainian brigades still in Myrnohrad, but they declined to comment, citing military regulations.

Strategic significance

Natia Seskuria, associate international security fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), explained that the area is important for the Ukrainians to keep and the Russians to take because of its strategic position.

“Situated at a major road and rail intersection in Donetsk Oblast, Pokrovsk has functioned as a central artery for moving troops, equipment, and supplies to Ukrainian units deployed along the surrounding front.”

Russia “would gain a platform to redirect its offensive efforts toward Ukraine’s principal defensive urban centres… including Kramatorsk and Slovyansk,” Seskuria said.

Ukrainian and Russian soldiers in Pokrovsk have fought intensely and at close quarters over the last month.

In late October US-made Black Hawk helicopters containing specialist troops directed by Ukrainian military intelligence entered Pokrovsk to try to keep the town.

But as Russian troops advance, Myrnohrad is becoming the last stronghold of Ukrainian forces in the area.

Uncertain future

At least up until 12 November, there were still civilians living in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, despite strikes on buildings in both cities.

A post made on that day by the Donetsk state regional administration estimated 1,200 people remain living in Pokrovsk and 900 in Myrnohrad.

Evacuation is only possible with the help of the military or police, and it is not clear how many have evacuated in the 11 days since.

Barros of ISW says gaining Pokrovsk would increase Russia’s leverage at the negotiating table.

“If the Russians can successfully convince enough international leaders that, okay, the Russians took Pokrovsk, they’re going to take the next thing, and they’re going take the thing, so now let’s negotiate, then that is a strategic victory for the Russians.”

Production by Michelle Inez Simon, Visual Investigations Producer.

The Data x Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

World

Torrential rain triggers deadly flooding and landslides in Vietnam

Published

22 hours ago

November 23, 2025

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Torrential rain triggers deadly flooding and landslides in Vietnam

Torrential rain, flooding and landslides has left more than 100 people dead or missing in Vietnam.

Rainfall has exceeded 74.8in (1.9 metres) in some parts of central Vietnam over the past week.

The region is a major coffee production belt and home to popular beaches, but it is also prone to storms and floods.

Fatalities have been reported in Dak Lak province and the neighbouring Khanh Hoa province.

Footage has been released by local police of a dramatic rescue, involving a drone which airlifted a stranded man to safety from an island in the middle of the Serepok River, Dak Lak province.

The government estimates the flooding has cost the economy around 8.98 trillion dong (£260m).

More than 235,000 houses were flooded and nearly 80,000 hectares of crops were damaged, Vietnam’s disaster agency said.

On Thursday, VietnamNet newspaper said that a suspension bridge on Da Nhim River in Lam Dong province had been swept away.

Video footage posted online showed the bridge being swallowed by the river in just a few seconds.

Naval forces have been deployed to help stranded citizens in Khanh Hoa, the Vietnam News Agency reported, adding that floodwaters had reached record highs in many areas.

Photos shared in state media reports showed residents, including children, sitting on the roofs of flooded houses in Khanh Hoa, Gia Lai and Dak Lak provinces.

A seven-year-old girl was rescued late on Wednesday in Da Lat, the capital of Lam Dong province, after being buried by a landslide, the Nhan Dan newspaper reported.

The landslide, triggered by heavy rain, knocked down and buried part of the house where the girl was staying.

She was pulled out after an hour and a half and was taken to hospital with a broken leg, according to the report.