The gunman who killed 18 people in Lewiston, Maine, has been found dead, Maine Governor Janet Mills said at a news conference Saturday. 

"I'm breathing a sigh of relief tonight knowing that Robert Card is no longer a threat to anyone," she said, referring to the gunman.

Three people remain in critical care.

Police searched extensively for the shooter for nearly two days, first asking people to stay inside and then eventually lifting a shelter-in-place order late Friday.

Mills said she had notified President Joe Biden about the news and thanked law enforcement officials for their work.

Gunman has an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, says official

State Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck said at the news conference that the suspect was found dead near Androscoggin River in Lisbon Falls.

Card had an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Sauschuck said, adding that it was not clear when the gunman died. More details will follow in the coming days, he said.

Sauschuck held a news conference earlier in the day too, where he named all 18 victims of the mass shooting.  All of the victims’ families had been notified.

Photos of those slain were posted on a board behind him and he read their names aloud at the briefing. The reading was followed by a moment of silence.

A spokesperson for the state medical examiner’s office said the victims ranged in age from 14 to 76.

Manhunt lasted nearly two days after shooting rampage

The shooter had remained at large for nearly two days, as authorities, including dozens of FBI agents, scoured the woods and waterways in central and southern Maine.

Officials said the shooter's family contacted police after surveillance pictures of him were released.

Authorities then scrutinized a possible suicide note found at the shooter's home that was addressed to his son. The note didn't provide any specific motive for the shooting, they added.

Neighbors told investigators that the shooter's family lived in the area, in a town called Bowdoin, for generations and various members of the family own hundreds of acres in the area.

The shooter was ultimately found dead near a location that had been cleared twice by police during the manhunt, Sauschuck said.

Biden calls for gun legislation

At a later press conference, Sauschuck said police found a firearm in the shooter's car and more weapons in the place where he was found dead.

The US has recorded more than 500 mass shooting incidents in 2023 according to data from the Gun Violence Archive, a non-governmental organization.

US President Joe Biden said the nation was once again "in mourning after yet another senseless and tragic mass shooting."

He reiterated calls for a renewed assault weapons ban and stricter rules on gun sales measures that need to pass Congress.

Editor's note: An earlier version of the article withheld the full name of the suspect. DW follows the German press code, which stresses the importance of protecting the privacy of suspected criminals or victims and urges us to refrain from revealing the full names of alleged criminals.

zc, rm, rmt/wd (AP, Reuters)