Robert Card’s autopsy reveals he died up to 12 hours before police located him

• Robert Card’s autopsy report is in.
• It reveals surprising details.
• Card shot himself.

On October 25, alarm bells went off in Maine after Robert Card went on a killing spree.

The Maine shooter killed at least 18 people and injured 13 more in a devastating massacre that Wednesday night.

The chaos began when Card stormed the Sparetime bowling alley, where he opened fire indiscriminately.

More details about Card have now been released.

Robert Card killed himself after the shooting

Robert Card died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound that «probably» occurred between eight and 12 hours before his body was found.

This was announced a week after he was located in the back of a truck on his former employer’s property at a recycling center.

In the wake of the shootings, tens of thousands of area residents sheltered in their homes behind closed doors while hundreds of officers searched for Card.

Card had fled in a vehicle that was later found abandoned on the river bank of a nearby town.

What did Robert Card’s autopsy reveal?

Law enforcement agencies initially faced criticism for not locating Card’s body sooner.

It was assumed that he had committed suicide shortly after the shootings and that his body had been overlooked in previous searches.

However, Dr. Mark Flomenbaum, the state’s chief medical examiner, provided different information.

Card was apparently alive, and possibly on the move, for more than 24 hours after the murders.

According to Robert Card’s autopsy he died instantly

However, the medical examiner’s office stated that Card suffered from a condition that caused his heart to empty of blood after he shot himself.

This affected the accuracy of the time of death by influencing the distribution of blood in his body, according to Lindsey Chasteen of the medical examiner’s office in Augusta.

The latest revelation coincided with President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden’s visit to Lewiston to offer their condolences and meet with victims.

Biden said, «Jill and I have done this too many times,» referencing the frequent mass shootings in the United States.

Police had been warned about Card

Authorities had been aware of Card for several months due to his family’s growing concern about his mental health.

This concern intensified after an incident with other members of the Army Reserve.

On July 15, during training in New York, Card accused other members of his unit of calling him a pedophile.

He attacked one of them and locked himself in his motel room.

He tried to buy a silencer

The owner of a local firearms store revealed that Robert Card attempted to purchase a silencer for a rifle.

This occurred almost three months before he went on a rampage at a bowling alley in rural Maine last week.

«He came in and filled out the form, he checked off a box that incriminated himself saying that he was in an institution,” said Rick LaChapelle, owner of Coastal Defense Firearms.

«Our staff was fantastic, let him finish filling out the form, and said, ‘I’m sorry, Mr. Card, we cannot give you this… ‘» he said.

Card had been institutionalized

According to Univision, Maine’s ‘yellow flag’ law allows police to put someone in protective custody and restrict their access to weapons if they are having mental health issues.

Unfortunately, this did not happen in the case of the Maine shooter.

A sheriff claimed that deputies who conducted a check on Card’s home did not have legal authority to break down the door and arrest Card.

According to  ABC News, Card had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks in the summer of 2023.