Eighteen people were killed and at least a dozen were injured in separate shootings at a Lewiston, Maine, bar and a bowling alley on Oct. 25, setting off a multiday search for the gunman that put entire communities on lockdown. On Oct. 27, authorities discovered the shooter’s body in neighboring Lisbon, near a recycling plant where he used to work.
A number of revelations have come out in the days since the shootings that raise questions about what law enforcement knew about the gunman and when, if authorities could have seized his firearms beforehand, and his mental health. President Biden visited Lewiston on Nov. 3 to honor the victims and meet with first responders and families who lost loved ones.
Here’s how the days after the shootings unfolded.
See our complete coverage of the Maine shootings.
Biden departs Maine — 7:03 p.m.
By Ivy Scott, Globe Staff
President Biden took off from Auburn-Lewiston Airport just after 7 p.m.
Biden meets with victims’ families, survivors — 6:05 p.m.
By Ivy Scott, Globe Staff
Following his speech at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, President Biden met with victims and survivors at Geiger Elementary School where families gathered around tables and waited for the president to arrive Friday afternoon.
There was a podium ready, according to Breslin Macneir, who lost his father Keith Macneir in the violence, but no “posing or posturing for the camera.”
Instead, he said, families received “an intimate apology and a pillar to stand next to.”
Maine ‘will heal,’ King says — 4:29 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
“There’s little that we can say or do to ease the pain of a tragedy like this,” Maine Senator Angus King said. “But we have to start by acknowledging it and committing ourselves to the sacred duty of remembering those who we have lost. And today is about remembrance.”
”I’ve said for years that Maine is a big, small town with very long streets,” he said. “We know each other, we care about each other, we’re an old-fashioned community. And that’s why this tragedy has hit us so hard. What happened last week was a tear in the fabric of that community. But it will heal. It will heal as we come together in respect, in remembrance, and in love.”
Day of shooting ‘seared in our memories,’ Collins says — 4:27 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
Senator Susan Collins said the day of the mass shootings is “a day of horror and grief, but also a day of courage and compassion.”
She also offered a message to the deaf community: “Stay strong.”
In her remarks, Collins referenced Oct. 7 as the date of the shootings, appearing to mix up the date of Hamas’s attack on Israel with the actual date of the shooting, Oct. 25.
Legislative action on gun violence ‘is about common sense,’ Biden says — 4:20 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
“I’ve been at this a long time,” President Biden said. “I know consensus is possible.”
”This is about common sense,” President Biden said, while calling for “reasonable, responsible measures to protect our children, our families, our communities” from gun violence.
”Regardless of our politics, this is about protecting our freedom to go to a bowling alley, a restaurant, school, church, without being shot and killed,” he said.
Maine shootings open ‘painful wound all across the country,’ Biden says — 4:18 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
The Maine shootings open “a painful wound all across the country,” Biden said.
“Too many Americans have lost loved ones or survived the trauma of gun violence.”
He listed communities where mass shootings have taken place: Buffalo; Uvalde, Texas; Sandy Hook, Conn.; and Monterey Park, Calif.
“Too many to count,” he said.
‘All of them lived lives of love and service and sacrifice,’ Biden says of victims — 4:16 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
“Eighteen precious souls stolen,” President Biden said of the victims. “Thirteen wounded. Children, grandchildren, spouses, siblings, parents, grandparents, bowling coaches, union workers, beloved members and advocates and friends of Lewiston’s deaf and hard of hearing community.”
”All of them lived lives of love and service and sacrifice,” he said.
‘You’re not alone,’ Biden says in Lewiston — 4:11 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
President Biden said on Friday that he came to grieve with the people of Maine and to make sure they know that “you’re not alone.”
”We just visited a memorial at the restaurant, and we’re here at the bowling alley where we met with the first responders,” Biden said. “They’ll never forget the trauma they experienced. As I said, can’t express how much we appreciate what you did. And also the nurses and docs from the hospital who took care of these folks. I don’t know how they do it. We’re also meeting with survivors and families of the victims who [will] never quite be the same.”
Biden and first lady move on to bowling alley that was site of mass shooting — 3:51 p.m.
By Ivy Scott, Globe Staff
As the convoy made its way from the bar to Just in Time bowling alley, residents dotted the sidewalk and gathered in driveways along the route, some with phones out, others shading their eyes from the sun to catch a glimpse of the passing motorcade. On some roads, police vehicles blocked off side streets.
On Main Street, as the convoy approached the bowling alley, a crowd of several dozen residents stood outside to show support for Republican candidate Donald Trump, holding signs that said “Trump 2024″ and “Still My President” with a large picture of Trump’s face.
Bidens visit memorial outside Lewiston restaurant — 3:43 p.m.
By Ivy Scott, Globe Staff
The Bidens arrived at Schemengees Bar and Grille just after 3:20 p.m. A memorial site in front of the restaurant was covered in flowers, with signs reading “Be Nice,” “Fix the Mental Health System” and “The Kindness of Strangers Heals Our Wounds” and a red heart. As she exited her vehicle, Governor Janet Mills went immediately to embrace bar owner Kathy Lebel in a tight hug.
President Biden and the First Lady got out of a limousine and approached the memorial site, bending to leave a bouquet of flowers. Biden took off his sunglasses for a moment of silence. After a long moment, he gestured toward Lebel and local officials, who approached. President Biden hugged Lebel tightly, and the two spoke for a few moments.
Biden will not seek a federal red flag law, press secretary says — 3:24 p.m.
By Jim Puzzanghera, Globe Staff
President Biden has no plans to ask Congress to pass a national red flag law after the mass shooting in Lewiston, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters traveling with him to Maine.
Biden will reiterate his call for tougher gun safety legislation, including a ban on assault-style weapons. But Biden wants to leave the enactment of red flag laws to the states, Jean-Pierre said.
Red flag laws in more than 20 states allow law enforcement officials and others to petition a judge to temporarily remove guns from a person who they believe could be a risk to themselves or others.
Maine has a narrower yellow flag law that requires a person be taken into protective custody and evaluated by a mental health professional before police can ask a judge to seize someone’s weapons. The Maine law has come under scrutiny after revelations of warnings about Robert R. Card II, the Lewiston gunman.
Biden has encouraged states to enact red flag laws and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that he signed into law last year includes $100 million to help them do that, Jean-Pierre said.
”We’re going to continue to work with states to … encourage them to move forward with red flag laws,” she said. “Obviously, this is something that the president thinks is really important.”
Biden arrives in Lewiston — 3:16 p.m.
By Ivy Scott, Globe Staff
Biden’s helicopter touched down at Auburn-Lewiston Airport just after 2:50 p.m. Friday after a short flight from Brunswick, the last in a convoy of five aircraft.
He was greeted by several officials, including Mayor Carl Sheline, House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, and Governor Janet Mills. Biden and First Lady Jill Biden hugged Mills and Talbot Ross, shaking hands with Sheline as they exchanged a few words. At one point, Sheline could be seen putting his hand on the president’s shoulders.
After a few moments, the Bidens stepped into a black limousine and drove away from the airport into Lewiston.
Photos: Shooting victim Ron Morin remembered — 3:15 p.m.
By Erin Clark and John Tlumacki, Globe Staff
A funeral service was held to remember Ron Morin, who was killed last week in during the mass shooting in Lewiston.
Local officials express gratitude for presidential visit — 3:07 p.m.
By Ivy Scott, Globe Staff
As local elected officials awaited President Biden’s arrival at Auburn-Lewiston Airport, they expressed their gratitude for his visit.
”President Biden is no stranger to personal loss and grief,” said Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline. “We are honored to have him visit Lewiston today and share in our mourning.”
Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross said she found it “very comforting to have the President and First Lady coming.”
It felt as if they were coming out of a genuine desire to support, not out of obligation, she said.
”They know our pain,” she said, and “it means a lot to have them here.”
Biden to call on Congress to act on gun violence — 2:46 p.m.
By Jim Puzzanghera, Globe Staff
In his remarks in Lewiston, Maine, this afternoon, President Biden will again call on Congress to build upon steps he has already taken to “end the gun violence epidemic tearing our nation apart,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.”
“Congress has the power to ensure an event like this does not happen again. The time is now to act,” Jean-Pierre told reporters traveling with Biden on Air Force One as the president visits the site of another mass shooting.
Biden will reiterate his comments after the Lewiston mass shooting last week that Congress should pass legislation that bans assault-style weapons, enacts universal background checks for gun purchasers, requires safe storage of weapons, and ends immunity from lawsuits for gun manufacturers, Jean-Pierre said.
Air Force One arrives in Maine — 2:32 p.m.
By Jim Puzzanghera, Globe Staff
Air Force One landed in Brunswick, Maine, at 2:22 p.m., according to a White House pool report. President Biden and Jill Biden were set to head from there to Lewiston via motorcade.
Senators Collins and King flying with Biden to Maine — 2:29 p.m.
By Amanda Kaufman, Globe Staff
Maine Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and Maine Representative Chellie Pingree are accompanying President Biden on Air Force One for his trip to Maine, according to the White House.
Biden boards Air Force One for Maine — 1:16 p.m.
By Jim Puzzanghera, Globe Staff
President Biden did not take questions from reporters as he boarded Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland for the 90-minute flight to Maine to meet with first responders and families of the victims of last week’s mass shooting in Lewiston.
Biden is scheduled to arrive at Brunswick Executive Airport at 2:35 p.m. and then will travel by motorcade who is traveling with Jill Biden to Lewiston.
Lewiston mayor declares Nov. 3 ‘Love Lewiston Day’ — 11:40 a.m.
By Shannon Larson, Globe staff
Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline issued a proclamation declaring Nov. 3 “Love Lewiston Day” in the wake of the deadly mass shootings on Oct. 25, he announced in a Facebook post Friday.
Sheline attached a photo of the proclamation in his post.
It states that the “tragedy has caused unimaginable pain and a deep yearning for ways to unite and collectively heal” and that “love is a tremendous healer.”
Sheline’s proclamation also acknowledged and expressed gratitude toward law enforcement, medical personnel, community organizers, mental health providers, and others who responded to help victims and community members in the aftermath of the shootings.
”Uniting and extending love to our neighbors is very important as we move forward, and Love Lewiston Day is a meaningful step in that direction,” the proclamation states. “We are a resilient community, and we do have the ability to unite and heal, as well as share acts of remembrance within our city and beyond.”
Schedule of events for Biden trip to Lewiston — 11:10 a.m.
By Shannon Larson, Globe staff
President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will arrive in Lewiston, Maine, Friday afternoon, where they are expected to meet with members of the community following the deadly mass shootings in the city that killed 18 and injured more than a dozen.
There, the Bidens will honor the victims and meet with grieving families and first responders.
This is the itinerary for the visit, according to the White House.
2:35 p.m. to 2:50 p.m. — After landing at Brunswick Executive Airport in Brunswick, Maine, the Bidens will head to the Lewiston Landing Zone, in Lewiston, Maine.
3:45 p.m. — Shortly after arriving in Lewiston, the Bidens are scheduled to meet with first responders, nurses, and others who were on the front lines of the response to the shootings.
4:15 p.m. — President Biden is expected to deliver remarks paying respects to the victims of the shootings, and expressing gratitude to those on the front lines. Jill Biden will be in attendance but is not scheduled to speak.
5 p.m. — During the final part of their visit to Lewiston, the Bidens are scheduled to meet privately with the families and victims of the attacks.
7:20 p.m. to 7:50 p.m. — The Bidens will depart from Lewiston and head to Brunswick Executive Airport, where they will depart to Dover Air Force Base.
We’re at the Brunswick Executive Airport, where @POTUS & @FLOTUS are expected to land this afternoon before heading to Lewiston. @where_is_scout and I will be here all day and @newscentermaine crews will be positioned at every stop of the visit. pic.twitter.com/erE5M7RsfJ
— Sam Rogers (@slaminsamNCM) November 3, 2023
Biden bound for Maine to mourn with community reeling from shootings — 8:00 a.m.
By the Associated Press
President Biden is heading to Lewiston, Maine, to mourn with a community where 18 people were killed in the deadliest mass shooting in state history. It’s the type of trip that is becoming far too familiar.
“Too many times the president and first lady have traveled to communities completely torn apart by gun violence,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on the eve of the Bidens’ trip on Friday. “We can’t accept it as normal.”
In addition to those killed, more than a dozen people were injured in the Oct. 25 shootings at a bar and a bowling alley.
The Bidens will pay their respects to the victims, meet with first responders, and grieve with families and community members affected by the shootings, Jean-Pierre said.
‘The biggest gap in health care’: For patients who are involuntarily committed, a steep drop-off follows — 7:00 a.m.
By Dana Gerber and Jessica Bartlett, Globe Staff
Three months before Robert R. Card II killed 18 people in Maine’s deadliest mass shooting, he was released from a psychiatric facility where he had been involuntarily committed for 14 days. It was a determination that indicated, under New York law, that the Army reservist no longer represented an imminent danger to himself or others.
On Oct. 25, that would prove to be a deadly miscalculation.
Experts say cases like Card’s are extreme examples of a critical gap in the mental health system. People who meet the high bar for involuntary commitment are offered treatment while hospitalized. But once a patient leaves, there are few checks in place to make sure they are getting whatever additional help they need.
Maine authorities could have moved to seize gunman’s firearms before shootings, experts say — 5:00 a.m.
By Sean Cotter, Emma Platoff, and Sarah L. Ryley, Globe Staff
Local police appeared to have enough information about the Lewiston gunman to take him into custody and begin the process of seizing his guns weeks before he killed 18 and injured 15 more in shootings last week, according to several legal experts, including a key architect of Maine’s “yellow flag” law.
When sheriff’s deputies arrived at Robert R. Card II’s trailer on the morning of Sept. 16, they already knew that Card had been described as “ARMED AND DANGEROUS.” Their records also showed that he had been held in a psychiatric facility, that he had made threats against fellow Army Reservists, and that he was suffering from psychotic episodes.
Biden often delivers a familiar public message after tragedies, but in private he consoles with a personalized touch — 10:17 p.m.
By Jim Puzzanghera, Globe Staff
President Biden’s words in times of tragedy come from someone who knows the pain of loss and the burden of trying to console others facing it, as he’ll do again in Lewiston, Maine, on Friday.
“It’s like a black hole in your chest you feel like you’re being sucked into. Suffocating, hardly able to breathe,” he said in Monterey Park, Calif., in March after a gunman killed 11 people there several weeks earlier. “But I promise you . . . the day will come when the memory of your loved one brings a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eye.”
Mourners gather in Auburn for candlelight vigil in honor of lives lost in mass shooting — 8:49 p.m.
By Deanna Pan, Globe Staff
The pastors who addressed the candlelight vigil Thursday night in Festival Plaza reminded the twin cities of Lewiston and Auburn of their resilience in the aftermath of last week’s mass shooting that killed 18 people, injured more than a dozen, and plunged the state into grief.
New records show police scrambling to protect Lewiston gunman’s ex-girlfriend and others — 4:40 p.m.
By Mike Damiano, Sarah L. Ryley, and Christopher Huffaker, Globe Staff
Records released by Maine law enforcement Thursday revealed new details about the police response in the 48 hours after the Lewiston mass shootings but left some key questions unanswered, such as when the gunman died.
A timeline released by the Maine State Police shows that the agency tried to locate the gunman’s ex-girlfriend within hours of the shootings out of fear that Robert R. Card II might go to her home. Meanwhile, officers with the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Department went to a Bowdoin home because they believed Card might harm the man who lived there and his family, according to an incident report released to the Globe in response to a public records request.
Police had enough information to pursue ‘yellow flag’ weapons restriction for Lewiston gunman, law’s author says — 12:00 p.m.
By Emma Platoff, Globe Staff
Local police appeared to have enough information about the Lewiston gunman to take him into custody and pursue a weapons restriction weeks before he killed 18 and injured at least a dozen in a pair of shootings last week, according to a key architect of Maine’s “yellow flag” law, which is designed to temporarily seize firearms from those in mental health crisis who pose a risk to themselves or others.
A week after his death in Maine’s mass shooting, the parents of a ‘silent giant’ share their loss — 6:00 a.m.
By Jason Laughlin, Globe Staff
As her husband shared stories of their son Billy’s gentle nature, Laura Brackett looked away, her gaze turning to the window or the television in their living room playing a muted episode of “Judge Judy.”
Pictures of her son filled the wall behind her.
With anthem at Lewiston game, James Taylor showers the people with love — 11:20 p.m.
By Maeve Lawler, Globe Correspondent
Singer James Taylor lent his soothing voice to the grieving people of Lewiston, Maine, where he sang the national anthem at Wednesday night’s high school football game against storied rival Edward Little High School of Auburn.
At Lewiston-Auburn football game, locals take a first step toward ‘whatever a new normal is’ — 8:50 p.m.
By Deanna Pan, Globe Staff
Bob Blanchette gazed through a window in the press box overlooking the football field. It was kickoff time at the annual “Battle of the Bridge” between cross-river rivals Lewiston High School and Edward Little in Auburn. Lewiston’s Blue Devils were facing off against Edward Little’s Red Eddies on their home turf. Lewiston’s record was better, but it was anyone’s game.
As Lewiston mourns, a community pulls together — 7:50 p.m.
By Spencer Buell, Globe Staff
Last Thursday morning, while the news was still fresh and the suspect’s whereabouts were unknown, Billie Jo Brito was at her flower shop, the Blais Flowers & Garden Center, mentally preparing for the surge in orders that was sure to come.
Then her phone rang.
Maine governor launches independent commission to probe Lewiston mass shootings — 6:50 p.m.
By Samantha J. Gross and Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
Maine Governor Janet T. Mills said she will establish an independent commission to investigate the Lewiston mass shootings, which killed 18 people, as well as the months leading up to the rampage when authorities were warned about the gunman’s declining mental health and previous threats to use his weapons to harm others.
The commission looking into Robert R. Card II, whose body was found two days after he perpetrated the state’s deadliest shootings, will be composed of “legal, investigative, and mental health” experts who Mills said will probe “what more could have been done to prevent this tragedy from occurring.”
Maine sheriff’s deputy blasts State Police handling of manhunt for Lewiston shooter, drawing rebuke from colonel — 6:40 p.m.
By Sean Cotter, Globe Staff
A Maine sheriff’s deputy in the county where a gunman killed 18 people and wounded more than a dozen last week accused the State Police of mishandling the two-day manhunt for the shooter, claiming in a scathing Facebook post that local law enforcement agencies were cut out of the search while residents of Lewiston and surrounding areas were urged to shelter in place.
Law enforcement, military officials knew about gunman’s instability for months. But repeated warnings weren’t enough. — 3:50 p.m.
By Travis Andersen and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff
Police and military officials were warned repeatedly about Army Reservist Robert R. Card II in the months leading up to Oct. 25, when he killed 18 people and wounded 13 others in Lewiston, Maine in the worst mass shooting in the state’s history.
Below is a timeline of detailed reports to authorities about Card’s rapidly declining mental health, from Card’s teenage son to the desperate pleas of a fellow reservist to “change the passcode to the unit gate,” and the responses to the growing evidence of Card’s instability.
Tracking the misinformation in police’s response to Maine gunman — 3:40 p.m.
By Daniel Kool, Globe Correspondent
As law enforcement scrambled to unravel the events leading up to and following Maine’s deadliest mass shooting, they released a trickle of information that, at times, contradicted itself.
Early details published by state, federal, and military officials about Robert Card, who killed at least 18 people in a pair of shootings last week, were often vague, sometimes misleading, and, in a few cases, outright wrong.
Army reservist sent texts before Maine attack warning gunman would ‘do a mass shooting’ — 1:00 p.m.
By Samantha J. Gross, Globe Staff
A set of desperate texts and a letter from a US Army Reserve training supervisor to a Maine sheriff in September reveal the high level of concern Robert R. Card II’s fellow reservists had about the severity of his mental illness and their fears he would commit a mass shooting.
In a text sent at 2:04 a.m. in September to Army Reserve training supervisor Kelvin L. Mote, one of Card’s fellow reservists urged the supervisor to change the passcode to the unit gate, where weapons were being stored.
Lewiston gunman had been involuntarily committed to a mental hospital — 11:30 a.m.
By Hanna Krueger, Sean Cotter, and Daniel Kool, Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent
The Army reservist who killed 18 people and wounded at least a dozen more last week was involuntarily committed to a mental hospital in New York this summer after exhibiting erratic behavior during training, a hospital official told the Globe on Tuesday.
It was the first confirmation that Robert R. Card II’s two-week stay at the hospital in July was involuntary.
See updates from Oct. 31 and earlier.