18 people lost their lives when the shooter opened fire.
Just over two days later, the mass murderer is still at large.
– My gut feeling is that he got into the forest on foot, says FBI agent Daniel Brunner to CNN.
Residents of the areas around the city of Lewiston in the northeastern United States are still being asked to stay indoors, after what is described as the worst mass shooting in the history of the state of Maine. Several properties connected to the suspected shooter have been searched.
Robert Card is described as a 40-year-old reservist and weapons instructor with mental health problems. His trail ends at the Androscoggin River, where the police found the suspected mass murderer’s car.
CNN reports that dives have begun in the river, after authorities found a message left behind by Card.
Thought he was going to die
According to the channel, the note indicates that Card did not expect to be alive when it was found, the equivalent of a suicide note. The note should essentially contain instructions to others about where things could be found and what should be destroyed.
Earlier on Friday, CNN spoke with FBI agent Daniel Brunner.
– He knows this area well and has many options. He could be in Florida now but my gut feeling is that he made it on foot into the woods rather than fleeing to sea, says Brunner.
“Difficult task”
The agent believes that it may take some time before the suspected perpetrator is found.
– If Robert Card has prepared himself with food, water and fuel, it may take a long time to catch him. It is a more difficult task to find someone in the many hiding places of the forest than in an urban environment, says Brunner to CNN.
No motive for the shooting has yet emerged.
The two mass shootings took place at a bowling alley and at a popular bar in Lewiston early Wednesday night, local time. In addition to the 18 dead, several injured are being treated in hospital.