A Maine councilman has told how his son was shot dead after he tried to stop mass shooter Robert Card’s massacre at a bar with a butcher knife.
Leroy Walker said his son Joseph, who managed Schemengees Bar & Grille in Lewiston, used his last moments to try to save lives before he was gunned down.
‘My son picked up a butcher knife and went after the gunman to try to stop him from killing other people,’ the city councilman said. ‘That’s when he shot my son to death. He tried to save some more lives, and he ended up losing his life.’
Speaking on CNN on Friday morning, he added: ‘I’m very proud of my son. I know that definitely he would do this all over again if this was to happen. All my life and all my son’s life, we have faced many other things that have been crazy at times in life.’
Walker Sr said the bar served as a meeting place for members of the community, who consider each other family.
Joseph Walker (pictured), 57, was the son of Auburn City Councilor Leroy Walker and manager of Schemengees Bar & Grille in Lewiston
‘My son picked up a butcher knife and went after the gunman to try to stop him from killing other people.,’ city councilman Leroy Walker (pictured) said
Walker Sr went on to explain that despite his grief he does not harbor anger towards the shooter. The father and son are pictured together
Leroy Walker said his son Joseph, who managed Schemengees Bar & Grille in Lewiston
The bar manager reportedly used his last moments to try to save lives before he was killed by the gunman
‘This place brings thousands of people in a year. And Joe is usually the first face they see coming through the door and the last one they see going out the door. It’s going to be hard for a lot of people,’ Walker said through tears.
‘For myself and my family and his wife and grandchildren, stepchildren, they are a loving family.’
Walker Sr went on to explain that despite his grief he does not harbor anger towards the shooter.
‘You have to put that part of it out of your mind. You have to let the law do whatever needs to be done,’ he said. ‘If this person was at the time in his right mind, I believe he would have been a loving person just like we are.’
Shooting suspect Card, 40, remains on the run more than 24 hours after the rampage on Wednesday.
The rampage has left at least 18 people dead and 13 more injured, meaning it is believed to be the deadliest mass shooting of 2023. The shooting is the 34th mass killing involving more than four victims in the US this year.
Hundreds of law enforcement officers are searching for Card- a petroleum supply specialist who received psychiatric treatment this summer after he reported hearing voices and having thoughts about hurting other soldiers.
Law Enforcement officials continue their investigation at the Schemengees Bar
Law enforcement officers, right, stand near armored and tactical vehicles, center, near a property on Meadow Road, in Bowdoin, Maine, on Thursday night
FBI agents staged a dramatic raid on a family property on Thursday night but Card remains on the run – as experts warned that the deer hunter and Army reservist was well equipped to survive in the wild, and could even be planning a new attack.
The Canada Border Services Agency has issued an ‘armed and dangerous’ alert to its officers along the Canada-U.S. border as the search for entered its second day on Friday.
Survivors and bereaved family members have begun speaking out following the bloody massacre at Schemengees Bar and Grille and Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley in Lewiston, the state’s second city.
Maine Police Colonel William G. Ross said that seven of the victims were found at the Just-In-Time bowling alley: one female and six males, all suffering apparent gunshot wounds.
Another eight victims were found at Schemengees Bar and Grille: seven males were discovered inside and one outside, all also with apparent bullet wounds.
Many more people were rushed to area hospitals, where some were pronounced dead.
Bill Young and his 14-year-old son Aaron were shot and killed at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, Bill’s brother Rob Young said.
Before learning of their deaths, Rob had flown from Baltimore to Lewiston on Thursday to help his sister-in-law in her frantic search for information after the pair had not been heard from since Wednesday when they went bowling.
Young joined Bob Violette, 76, who was also killed in the massacre that erupted inside Just In Time Recreation bowling alley, formally known as Sparetime, and Schemengee’s Bar and Grille, according to his daughter-in-law Cassandra.
Tricia Asselin, 53, who worked at the bowling alley, was also confirmed in the harrowing hours after the senseless massacre.
Bryan MacFarlane, 40, who was playing cornhole with his deaf friends, Arthur Strout, 41, and Ron Morin were also confirmed dead by family and friends.
Peyton Brewer-Ross, 40, and Steve Vozzella, 45, were also identified as victims by their family, friends, and colleagues.
The manager of the bowling alley, 34-year-old Tom Conrad, was also confirmed dead.
It emerged on Thursday Card may have been searching for his ex at the bowling alley and bar where he opened fire.
And police sources told ABC News that he left a suicide note addressed to his son.
The note did not give a motive for the mass shooting, the sources said.
Court documents show his ex-wife filed for divorce in 2007 and they were granted joint custody of their child – though it’s unclear whether she is his most recent ex.