Police are desperately searching for the gunman who shot and killed 18 people in Maine: “Already received more than 500 tips” | Maine shootings

Robert Card received military training. So he knows the strategies the authorities use to track down people and also knows how to stay under the radar.

He is also a weapons instructor. Clifford Steeves, a former colleague in the Army Reserve unit where Card served, told CNN that the man was “an experienced marksman and one of the best shooters in the unit.”

The manhunt takes place in a wooded area and that could also be an advantage for Card. “If you live in Maine, you tend to have more experience than average with the outdoors,” said retired FBI agent Rob D’Amico. Card also seems to have everything planned very well.

LOOK. What do we know about shooter Robert Card?

Last night, FBI SWAT teams raided Card’s last known address, a home in Bowdoin, Maine. A search was conducted, looking for computers, weapons and evidence that the man was planning an attack. According to police sources from news channel ‘CNN’, similar searches have also been carried out in other places and more may follow in the coming days.

Mike Sauschuck of the Ministry of Public Security confirmed this afternoon during a press conference that “a note” was found during one of the searches. He did not want to comment further on this.

Police chief David St Pierre has now announced that the police have already received a total of 530 tips and clues from citizens. St Pierre emphasizes that it may take “still days” before all these reports can be investigated.

For the time being, police are asking everyone in Lewiston and Lisbon to stay indoors and report any suspicious activity. “Call us immediately if you see anything suspicious,” said Lisbon Police Chief Ryan McGee. Many shops, institutions and schools are closed and the streets are deserted. Lewiston Public Schools, like some schools in Lisbon, Auburn and Brunswick, reported that they will not open their doors today.

Susan Collins, Senator of Maine, at least 80 FBI agents are involved in the manhunt, supplemented with personnel from other agencies. The coast guard, among others, is also involved in the search. A car believed to belong to Card was discovered at a pier in Lisbon, near the Androscoggin River. The suspect’s 4.5 meter boat is also still missing.

Police also say divers will search the Androscoggin River. “We will look for evidence and possibly bodies,” it said. “Although that does not mean that we think the suspect is in the water.”

Card’s family yesterday called on him to surrender. “We are helping the authorities as much as possible and are calling on Robert to hand himself in,” said his brother Ryan Card. “There are many people who are grieving right now, please focus on them. This is a lot of people’s worst nightmare.”

The man’s sister-in-law, Katie Card, told The Daily Beast about the mental health issues Card faced over the past year, which led to him being institutionalized for two weeks this summer.

He told his family that he could hear people targeting him thanks to powerful hearing aids he wore for his hearing problems. He heard the voices in, among other places, the two places where he carried out his deadly raid. “When we told him the voices were in his head, he got angry,” she says. “When my husband heard where the shootings took place, he immediately feared the worst.”