The ex-wife and son of Maine mass shooter Robert Card were in hiding as the manhunt for the killer continued for over 48 hours, before he was found dead Friday evening of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Cara Lamb, 39, whom Card married in 2005 and divorced two years later, shares an 18-year-old son Colby with the gunman, according to court records reported by the New York Post.
The terrified pair were understood to be in hiding while Card remained a fugitive-at-large, amid reports that he had been searching for an ex when he carried out the shooting that left 18 dead.
Before Card was found dead, the outlet reported that Lamb was not at her listed address, and a neighbor said he hadn’t seen her.
Cara Lamb, 39, and her son Colby Card, 18, (pictured together) were reportedly in hiding while Robert Card
Army reservist Card, 40, was found dead on Friday with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound
Police sources added to ABC News that a suicide note was left by the killer addressed to his son before the tragedy, although the note reportedly did not offer a motive.
One trigger for the massacre was floated by Card’s sister, who told investigators she believed he may have been looking for an ex when he rampaged through the Sparetime Recreation bowling alley and Schemengees Bar and Grille, police sources told the outlet.
It is not confirmed whether Card’s sister was referring to Lamb when she made the claim, or a more recent ex-partner.
Court records reportedly show that Lamb and Card tied the knot on October 1, 2005, in Brunswick, Maine.
The couple jointly filed for divorce in 2007 in Sagahoc County court, citing irreconcilable differences.
In 2013 the divorce agreement was amended to include an ominous requirement, stipulating that ‘all guns in either party’s home shall be under lock and key during which time they are not being used.’
Maine stands out as one of the few Democrat-run states with notably loose gun laws, and only made it a crime to keep an unlocked firearm in a home with a child in 2021.
The state’s lawmakers also rejected three major gun control bills just months before the massacre, which would have required criminal background checks for gun purchases; created a 72-hour waiting period before someone could possess a gun after purchase; and outlawed modifications to semiautomatic weapons.
18 people lost their lives in the mass shooting (pictured), with at least 13 others injured
Card’s divorce amendment also saw Card ordered to pay $74 a week in child support, and he described himself as self-employed to the court and represented himself.
In his final message to his son, which was found during the execution of a search warrant on Card’s home in Bowdoin, the gunman reportedly ‘gave information and instruction to others about where things could be found and disposed of,’ law enforcement sources told CNN.
It is unclear what Card said specifically to his son, with the outlet adding that the note appeared to be written to be read when ‘Card would no longer be alive.’
Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck declined to speculate on a potential motive in a Thursday press conference, but said investigators were looking into Card’s history of mental illness.
‘I know that we will be reviewing that information as we move forward, but that’s not an answer that we’re prepared to give today,’ he said at the time.
Card was the subject of a multi-agency manhunt that drew over 300 officers and lasted over 48 hours
Police remove a victim from the Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant, one of two locations where the gunman opened fire
The development comes as relatives of Card’s 18 victims told of their relief on Friday night after the Army reservist was found dead.
He was discovered at around 7:45pm near a recycling plant where he was recently fired and near to where his car was found hours after the massacre.
Robert Young, whose brother Bill, 44, and nephew Aaron, 14, were killed in the shooting, said that he and his brother had been at school with the gunman, played on the same baseball team, and expressed relief at the news of Card’s death.
‘It gives a sense of closure for us as a family, in as much as we don’t have to worry about him hurting anyone else,’ he told CNN.
‘And it kind of gives us a sense of justice. He’s not here anymore.’
He said they did not want to sit through a harrowing trial, and potentially see Card, who was suffering a mental breakdown, spared jail and confined to a psychiatric facility.
‘We didn’t want to sit through a trial. We didn’t want to see all the gruesome details.,’ he continued.
Bill Young (pictured left) and his 14-year-old son Aaron (pictured right) were shot and killed at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley
Robert Young, Bill’s brother and Aaron’s uncle, said the family was in shock from the news, but relieved at Card’s death
Tricia Asselin, 53, the second confirmed victim, was a part-time worker at Just-In-Time Recreation in Lewiston. She was bowling when the gunman came in and opened fire
Asselin was shot while calling 911 to alert emergency services to the mass shooting, her brother said
‘And, you know, sometimes things are – with him being in a mental institution, maybe he gets an insanity plea and never sees a day in jail. We just never know how it’s all going to work. At least for our family, this is kind of the outcome we wanted.’
Young added that people probably ‘won’t ever get why’, adding: ‘I don’t think there is a why on why’d you’d gun down innocent people, a 14-year-old boy.
‘My family had no beef with Robbie Card. We really don’t know him.’
Tammy Asselin, who survived the bowling alley shooting, but lost her cousin Tricia Asselin, said her feelings were mixed on hearing of Card’s death.
‘It is relieving so that the community itself can definitely move on without the fear of him out there, but it is also sad because we have so many questions left unanswered,’ she told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, holding back tears.
Asselin was separated from her 10-year-old daughter as the shooting began.
The little girl, asked how she felt, just shook her head, declining to speak.
‘I know it does give my daughter some peace to know that he has been caught because that was a fear of hers that he’s still out there,’ said Tammy.
Card’s body was found at around 7:45pm on Friday evening near a recycling plant that he was recently fired from
Janet Mills, the governor of Maine, said that she was ‘breathing a sigh of relief knowing Card is no longer a threat to anyone’
In a press conference held after Card’s body was found, Mike Sauschuck, the commander of Maine’s department of public safety, would not say whether he had died as police closed in or been dead for days.
‘There continues to be a lot of work that needs to be done here at the scene, and a lot to follow up on,’ said Sauschuck.
He added that a hunting ban in the area has now been lifted. Saturday marks the start of the deer hunting season, and is a key date in Maine’s calendar.
The White House released a statement saying the past two days have been ‘tragic’ for the entire country.
‘This has been a tragic two days – not just for Lewiston, Maine, but for our entire country,’ President Joe Biden said in a statement released Friday.
‘Once again, an American community and American families have been devastated by gun violence.
‘In all, at least eighteen souls brutally slain, more injured, some critically, and scores of family and friends praying and experiencing trauma no one ever wants to imagine.
‘Numerous brave law enforcement officers have worked around the clock to find this suspect and prevent the loss of more innocent life – all while risking their own. They are the best of us.
‘Tonight we’re grateful that Lewiston and surrounding communities are safe after spending excruciating days hiding in their homes.
‘I thank Governor Janet Mills for her steady leadership during this time of crisis, and continue to direct my administration to provide everything that is needed to support the people of Maine.
‘Americans should not have to live like this. I once again call on Republicans in Congress to fulfill their obligation to keep the American people safe. Until that day comes, I will continue to do everything in my power to end this gun violence epidemic.
‘The Lewiston community – and all Americans – deserve nothing less.’