Three survivors of Wednesday’s shootings in Lewiston remained in critical condition Sunday night at Central Maine Medical Center, while Mainers gathered around the state for vigils to support the families of those who didn’t survive.
A fourth survivor of the mass shootings was transferred last week from the Lewiston hospital to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Jim Cyr, a spokesman for Central Maine Healthcare, said in an email that the patient needed “complex orthopedic care” but was in stable condition.
A fifth victim was discharged from CMMC over the weekend.
The shootings were Maine’s deadliest, with 18 people killed and 13 injured. After more than two days of searching, police announced late Friday that they found suspect 40-year-old Robert Card, of Bowdoin, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a box trailer at Maine Recycling Corp., about a mile from where his car was found.
In a new development Sunday, ABC News reported that Card tried unsuccessfully to purchase a gun silencer from Coastal Defense Firearms of Auburn in August. The gun shop’s owner, Lewiston City Councilor Rick LaChappelle, told ABC News that he canceled the sale after Card disclosed in his firearm transaction form that he had been committed to a mental institution. That provision in Maine’s yellow flag law prevented the sale from going through.
Attempts to reach LaChappelle for further comment Sunday were unsuccessful.
“We did what we were supposed to do and hopefully saved a lot of lives by just following the proper procedures,” LaChappelle told ABC News.
Central Maine Medical Center received 14 of the victims who were shot but initially survived at Schemengees Bar & Grille and Just-In-Time Recreation. Of those 14, three died after they got to CMMC.
The hospital is not identifying the survivors still in its care, but family members have shared updates of their own.
A small memorial with bouquets of flowers and small signs sits outside of the emergency department at Central Maine Medical Center on Saturday. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer
One of those victims undergoing treatment at Central Maine Medical Center is Kyle “Ricky” Secor. His family posted a medical update to Facebook on Sunday morning. In the post, his family said they decided to withhold details until they had a better idea of some of the challenges Secor will be facing.
Secor, a father of two who played hockey for the Maine Nordiques, was taken off a ventilator Saturday night after spending days in critical condition, according to the post on Facebook. Secor was shot at Schemengees and had serious leg and abdomen injuries.
He had emergency surgery Wednesday night and needed an additional procedure Thursday. He had another lengthy surgery Friday to repair his injuries in his abdomen and legs, they said.
“Due to the success of the surgery and Kyle’s progress. The doctors felt confident to take him off the ventilator and wean the sedation,” the family wrote. “This process took quite some time, but as of last night Kyle is breathing on his own and slowly becoming aware of his surroundings.”
The family thanked the community for the support they’ve received.
“In the coming days/weeks Kyle now faces new challenges and will have many mountains to climb before he is out of the woods,” family members wrote. “But God is good and Kyle is alive and awake. Two things we weren’t sure would even been a possibility 4 days ago.”
Wayne Rucker, of Lewiston, waits to hear news from friends at the hospital Friday. Rucker’s friend Justin Karcher survived Wednesday’s mass shootings but remained in critical condition as of Sunday. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
Another shooting victim, Justin Karcher, 23, underwent surgery Sunday evening at CMMC, according to his younger sister, Haley Breton. Karcher was still on a ventilator Sunday.
Breton hasn’t been able to communicate with her brother for days, even though she and other close family have been by his side as much as they can.
“(The surgery) went OK,” Breton said in a telephone interview Sunday evening. Karcher remains in critical condition. “We are feeling hopeful.”
Karcher was shot at Schemengees. Since Wednesday night, Breton and Karcher’s mother, girlfriend and grandmother have been at the hospital as much as they can, she said, handling the uncertainty “update by update, minute by minute.”
“I think it’s just more the anxiety of not knowing what’s going to happen. Anything could happen in a second,” Breton said.
Breton said she noticed Karcher’s eyelids flutter once this weekend. She said she’s hopeful it might’ve been an attempt to communicate, although a doctor told her it could’ve also just been a reaction to sedatives or other medication.
Other developments have been scarier. After CMMC began allowing more visitors Saturday, Breton said Karcher’s heart rate dropped, and staff had to ask five people in his room to step out.
Breton said her family is grateful for all the support they’ve received.
“Just the prayers and the support,” she said. “Just knowing that there are people who care who we don’t even know, giving support.”
Thomas Conrad’s father salutes his late son at a service at Holy Family Church in Lewiston for the victims of Wednesday’s shootings. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal
As the families of the victims planned funerals or gathered in the hospital, many others around the state gathered Sunday for public vigils and religious services, including a two-hour remembrance ceremony beginning at 6 p.m. Sunday at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Lewiston.
Bangor also held a candlelight vigil Sunday night on the steps of Bangor City Hall.
School children in some communities will return to school Monday with added counseling services, while other districts, including Lewiston, will wait another day before reopening classrooms.
The White House, meanwhile, dispatched an official to Lewiston Sunday to help coordinate federal support for the community and the state. Gregory Jackson, deputy director of the recently created White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, was expected to arrive Sunday night and remain for an undetermined period.
As some injured survivors face uncertainty and long roads of recovery, many survivors who weren’t physically injured are still struggling to process what they experienced.
Tammy Asselin, who escaped the gunfire at Just-In-Time Recreation with her 10-year-old daughter, said Sunday they no longer feel at risk now that they know where Card is, but they have questions for him that will never be answered.
“I’m glad it’s over. But I’m so desperate to learn,” Asselin said. “I’m sick and tired of watching these things on TV.”
Asselin said she and her daughter are slowly working toward restoring some sense of normalcy in their lives.
This weekend, that’s been as simple as reestablishing a bedtime routine. Eventually, it’ll mean going to the grocery store and returning to school.
Lewiston has announced a gradual reintroduction to school, with classes scheduled to begin again Tuesday.
Asselin said her daughter’s principal and others from the school have checked in this week, and she thinks the school district has worked carefully on their reopening plans.
But even with a plan, the prospect of public appearances and large gatherings is still scary. Asselin said she wants to walk her daughter into the classroom Tuesday, for herself more than anyone.
“It’s so heavy,” Asselin said Sunday afternoon. “Even though we know what we need to do next, it’s all so much. It just feels like it’s a big weight on you.”
Staff Writer Dennis Hoey contributed to this report.
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