♪ you're watching "cnn news central." i'm boris sanchez in washington, d.c. with john berman on the ground in maine where an urgent

manhunt is under way for the suspect in two mass shootings. and cnn just learned the name of one of 18 people gunned down in that rampage. trisha ashlan was a 53-year-old mother who worked at the bowling alley, according to her brother, that is one of the locations where the shooting broke out. the other was a bar & grille, a ten-minute drive, three of them in critical condition, john. >> yeah, this is huge manhunt under way in the surrounding area here. hundreds of officers state and federal on the hunt for this alleged mass murderer. 40-year-old robert card. his family has urged card to surrender. that is according to his brother. but that man is now been on the run for some 18 hours now which is really shut down much of the area. schools, stores, banks, the

department of motor vehicles. l.l. bean which is about 15 miles away which many people know is open on christmas day, it is shut today, because of safety concerns, everyday life, very much different today as residents have been directed to shelter in place, secure your homes. secure your cars, is what officials are saying. and that order was just extended in the last hour. now, this man card, robert card, is an army reservist. sources do say he was committed to a military hospital for a few weeks this past summer. >> he should be considered armed and dangerous. based on our investigation, we believe this is someone that should not be approached. this is someone that should be -- if you come into any contact with this individual or someone you think looks like this individual, you are to call 911. >> all right. let's get right to cnn's senior crime and justice correspondent, shimon prokupecz who is in

lisbon, maine, about ten minutes from where i am. the shootings took place here. the suspect's car was found in lisbon where you are are, shimon. you've seen a lot of activity in the last hour or so. >> reporter: yeah, certainly, there's been a lot more activity than we've seen for most of the day in the last few hours or so. i'm standing here, john, because back here, we were told that there were searches going on. we would try to get down the block, then the police closed it all off. we saw a s.w.a.t. team with heavily armed vehicles that we've been seeing leaving the staging area and heading out to do the searches. we saw one going down this way. there may be two of them down there now. and what we were told is that there was a search going on up here. and so the police were not letting anyone out. we tried to go out, they told us to back off but it's sort of been this way, on this road here, this stretch of road, cops, police cars, other rescue vehicles up and down, every time

they're on their way to do a search, they would come up this way. we tried to follow them, but we're not having a lot of luck because they're going up these roads that we can't kind of go up. and if we try to go around, we can't get in. but you're talking about just how quiet things are. i want to show you, as you were talking, john, it kind of hit me. this is sort of a strip mall, right? every store here, closed. normally, these stores would be open, a verizon cell phone shop. a bank, an auto parts shop and then the mcdonald's here -- closed. everything here, closed. every business, every restaurant, every place, every office here, shut down. and you can see just empty. there's no one around. everyone is staying home in this neighborhood. the police have been focused a lot on this area. this is where he dumped his car. this is where the suspect dumped his car. where he went, after that, right now, a mystery. law enforcement out here,

searching, they go into the woods and they come back out, they don't exactly know, it's not clear to us how they're planning the searches or why they're going out when they go out, but certainly in the last few hours, we've seen an increase on that, john. >> this is where -- lisbon is where they found the suspect's car near a boat launch near the androscoggin river, there was concerns maybe the water was some means to escape maybe by foot. and the warnings very specific, secure your residences, secure your car, because there is concern, this man, robert card, is armed and dangerous could try to shoe his way in to get into a house or car or go farther. i do want to ask you about the s.w.a.t. teams behind you. i think that sounds extreme to some people, or alarming that something urgent is going on.

but it's really just the process. yes, they get a tip, they send people in, they search, they go somewhere else with the s.w.a.t. team, yes? >> yeah, that's exactly what they're doing, going out as teams. it can be two or three of those bearcat, those heavily armed vehicles. those are the s.w.a.t. teams. they'll go as a team. we've seen tractors where they go into the woods. and then they have other officers, some from the lisbon police department. some from outside law enforcement, they go out, a small convoy of probably five or six week vehicles. they go out together, there's also an ambulance in case someone gets hurt. they have an ambulance attached to the convoy and then they go out. where exactly they're going, all different locations, we were talking in the woods, then back here, maybe a building. we're starting to get to know the cops here. this is a police department of about 17. we've been out here since about 5:00 a.m. they're starting to get to know us. and so, you know, we're sort of

showing up, oh, you can't be here. but, we've seen the activity, certainly, pick up. but there's not this sort of sense of urgency that you would see in other manhunts. i've been at other locations when there's been manhunts. it's not like that. this is more subdued. it's calm, it's very methodical. it almost seems like they know what they're looking for and what location and when to go. yes, they get 911 calls. they get calls, people are worried that they hear something or that they see something. so, they call. and the police are taking everything seriously, and they go. but you're not seeing sort of this everyone is running and gunning and this sort of urgency here. things are calm. >> all right, shimon prokupecz, keep us posted. shimon is literally following the manhunt as it moves through this area. let us know when you end up somewhere else. let's get right to cnn anchor

and cnn chief correspondent pamela brown. pamela, i do understand you're getting new information about this suspect and a current working theory in the investigation. >> it is a working theory among law enforcement officials right now. they try to sort out why the subject robert card targeted these two locations. and a law enforcement official says at working theory that card recently broke up with a longtime girlfriend and these were the two places that the couple frequented. she was apparently supposed to be there for a tournament, there was a corn hole tournament at that bar. and that is one particular reason why he targeted the two locations because this is a place that he frequented with his ex-girlfriend. but we also know, and a family member confirmed that he had an acute mental health episode over the summer. he was hearing voices. and he had thoughts of harming fellow soldiers according to law

enforcement sources and after that, he was admitted into a mental health facility. and he was let go after an evaluation, let go after a few weeks by sources. now, what the terms were of that real lease, what that investigation entailed, i have reached out to that clinic, i have not heard back. those are big questions because after that, as you know, john, he was able to have access to his firearms. we know he had a large collection. he was a skilled marksman. and he was one of the best shooters according to a former colleague of his. there's looming questions about his mental health status, why he was allowed to leave that clinic, have access to those firearms. we know there's no red flag law in the state of maine. he's been described to us as those who knew him as an avid outdoorsman saying he would be very comfortable in the woods. we know according to property records he had a boat and his

car was ditched at a port where a boat could be docked. they're searching land and waters trying to find this man who they say is armed and dangerous. >> all right. pamela brown, thank you very much. again, the news there, part of it, he was committed for mental health reasons for two weeks over the summer, after reporting hearing voices and threatening to kill people at a national guard base. but after a couple of weeks, was then released. joining me now cnn law enforcement contributor retired fbi supervisory agent steve moore. steve, i want to focus on the manhunt here, what do you see as the threat to this community where i'm standing right now where they have issued this shelter in place and told people to secure their homes and secure their vehicles? what's the biggest threat? >> the biggest threat right now, from what i would see, is, number one, maybe he has a desire to inflict more

casualties. we don't know what the voices in his head were telling him. otherwise, the other threat would be he has certain needs as a human being at this point. he needs shelter. he needs food. he needs water. if he planned this out carefully, he will have a supply of food and water for a while. and may not need shelter. but if he hasn't planned it out, he's going to go looking for food and water and potentially shelter. that, you get, from population. from people, from buildings. and so, he may attempt to get into buildings, he may attempt to get into homes. it's potentially the reality that he should have already done it. in cases before, we've seen that people lock down, police go around, check doors make sure

everything is closed. and the suspect has already gotten into a house and is holding people hostage. so that's one small possibility. but it is a possibility. the other is that he's going to goal door knocking pretty soon and try to get his stuff. so, i would say that this is a very significant concern. >> shimon prokupecz, our correspondent who is following the manhunt throughout the area has been talking about how s.w.a.t. teams have been going into neighborhoods. going into one neighborhood, searching, coming out, going into another. based on that, how do you think that officers are going about this search right now? >> well, i've got some experience from that from my time on s.w.a.t. back where my hair was darker. what you do is try to figure out a plan on how you're going to eliminate certain areas of the

perimeter that you're searching. i mean, if you went in and searched, say, an area the size of a football field, and then left, that is no longer searched anymore. he could have come right back into where you were. so, you not only have to search an area, you have to secure it, after you've searched it. which means you're just using up people. and people and the manpower requirements for this are just incredible. the other thing is these searches have to go at a pretty slow pace because, i mean, think about it. he's trained. he's a marksman, and he has a long rifle. so the searchers are going to go in, and no matter how good the searchers are, the person who is being searched for will see them before they see him. and so, you have to provide search pattern where there's crossing fire, protected fire,

in case of that act. and you have to determine a search pattern. are you going to search in grids? or are you going to search in a big circle and move the perimeter in? or are you just going to search an area when you get a 911 call? these are all hard decisions that are made at the command post level. >> and one of the last things i'll say, this area, yes, it's heavily wooded in some places. there's water nearby. but there's also a lot of people who live not too far from here. the greater portland area that lewiston is part of has 500,000 people. so there are bustling communities that i imagine could be at risk. >> yes, yes. i mean, he could be anywhere within -- well, in fact, he could be a thousand miles away by now. but what the police are going to do, what authorities are going to do, while they're doing these searches locally, they're going to go to his social media, to

his personal devices that he left behind, and they're going to search his car to determine did he have mres in there. did he have equipment to help him camp. is there evidence that he took anything out of the back. that will help them determine whether he is hunkering down in the area, or whether he used that as just a place to pick up another vehicle and get moving faster. >> steve moore, thank you for helping us understand what we're seeing in all of these communities nearby. appreciate your help on this. so, the local hospital here in lewiston was inundated with patients in the aftermath of the shootings here. more than 100 off-duty workers were called in to help treat the victims. our breaking news s coverage f lose lelewiston, mamaine, back k aft quick brbreak.

♪ all right. this just into cnn, a city councillor from auburn, maine, which is the town right next to this one, lewiston, a city counselor there said his son was killed at the bar behind me right here while he was trying to stop the shooter. >> we learned that your son didn't make it. >> what time do you got? 2:15. >> 2 1/2 hours ago, over 14 hours my whole family sat on pins waiting for these knuckleheads to decide to reach into my son's pocket and pull out his i.d., and then they decided to tell us that he had been shot and killed at the scene.

>> leroy walker who just lost his son at the bar behind me which was the second location, where eight people were shot and killed. the first location where robert card opened fire was a bowling alley about ten minutes from where i am. cnn's brian todd is just outside the crime scene in that bowling alley. tell us what happened there, brian? >> reporter: well, john, just a few moments ago, i can kind of take you to where we are right now, the bowling alley, it's called the just in time recreation center, it's just behind us, you can't see it from where we are, the road loops to the left just behind the trees there. just a moment ago we saw two fbi vehicles coming in here, including one fairly large truck so they're still processing evidence here at this bowling alley. what we can tell you, the time line about the 911 calls that came in last night just after the shooting took place. the first shooting scene was right behind me, first 911 calls

came in at 6:56 p.m. eastern time from this location. 7:08 p.m. eastern time, just 12 minutes later, that's when the 911 calls came from your location, john, the schemengees bar there from the shooter there. just 12 minutes lapsed between the 911 calls from this location and the 911 calls from the second location. we do have account of a witness here at the bowling alley when the shooter came in. here's what the witness had to say. >> just another night of bowling. and out of nowhere, he just came in, there was a loud pop. i had my back turned to the door. as soon as i turned and saw that it was not a balloon, he was holding a weapon, i just booked it down the lane and i slid, basically, into where the pins are and climbed up into the machine and was on top of the machine for about ten minutes in the cops got there.

i don't think you're supposed to see that in real life. >> reporter: and again, a total of 18 people killed, 13 people injured. a short time ago, we did get an update from one of the hospitals treating patients, central me maine health care center, they brought in 14 patients last night and we're supposed to get another update about the conditions of patients there. john. >> all right. brian todd outside the bowling alley where the shooting began. brian, thank you very much. we just got more information about one of the victims who was killed in the bar. schemengees behind me, brian mcfarland was 40 years old. he was participating in a corn hole tournament at the bar, we were told this bar is a frequent location for big gatherings and events. a corn hole tournament for the deaf community.

we're told brian mcfarland was part of the deaf community in the lewiston area. and usually goes to schemengees on tuesday where the deaf community goes. he loved riding his bicycle and hanging out with his dog named m&m. one of the 18 people killed here. we are learning more information about the victims even as this intense manhunt continues. robert card, age 40, an armed killer, armed and dangerous on the loose. much more straight ahead.

♪ more desperately needed humanitarian aid has arrived in gaza from egypt in the form of food, medicine and medical supplies, but still, no fuel. palestine red crescent society said 12 aid trucks entered gaza at the rafah border crossing earlier today. israel continues to block deliveries of fuel altogether, saying hamas would only divert it for military use. military with a raid in gaza, images by the israeli defense forces shows images of tanks and a bulldozer moving in, the tanks firing artillery before ultimately leaving the area. the idf said it's part of the

next stages of combat which include a ground incursion. cnn's editor nic robertson joins me from sderot. nic, the strongest raid, that we've seen, intensifying with the potential for a ground incursion to come soon. >> reporter: yeah, we were watching it from right here last night. because the idf hadn't announced it was a ground incursion, we didn't know what we were witnessing, but over my shoulder in that direction, there was tank fire going across the hill. we could hear gunfire going as well, and detonations we hadn't heard before. but i'm going to ask john to show you what appears to be some fires just lit on the hillside behind us there. we've been watching what's going on here. and in the past half an hour or so, several, half a dozen, probably, flares have been fired up from the ground. and we can't tell whether they're coming from inside of gaza or outside of gaza.

but those flares have been coming very close to this town here, and they're falling in fields, fields that are on this side of the gaza fence. on the israel side of the gaza fence. and it appears to us, and i have to say appears at this stage, because we don't know for sure, as if the flares are being fired up from the gaza side and they're landing on the israeli side. and if is hamas or another group firing up those flares, it could be because they're worried about the potential for an incursion coming from here. nothing we've seen indicates an incursion is about to come from around from where we are at the moment. but each night, we see different developments. we learn different things from the idf in the morning. but right now, these fires that you're looking at here have been started, it appears, on the israeli side of the border fence by flares that were fired into the sky. we've seen a low-level drone operating in this area.

heard small arms fire as well. we may get more clarity on this in the coming hours. but i just think it does speak to what you're saying, the volatility around the border fence right now, the perception on both sides that there can be a larger scale ground incursion, bigger than the one we witnessed last night that could come in the coming days, boris. >> obviously a fluid situation, nic, please keep us posted on what you're seeing. let's dig deeper with israeli national spokesman jonathan henry. it sounds like a staging for a larger ground incursion, would you say that the israeli forces are delaying the incursion in the hope that you can get more hostages being held by hamas out. >> yeah, hi, thank you for having me, boris, i'm not going

to talk about the hostages because it is extremely sensitive, and we all know this is what hamas tend to do, to abduct our women, children, babies and elderly and hold them against their will in gaza, sensitive and desperate to other parts of israel. what i can say is that the ground forces are ready, prepared, equipped and may i also say eager to maneuver into the gaza strip and take the fighting to hamas where they're hiding underground. and as they're hiding behind their civilians underground in their tunnels, we're ready. and the raid that you saw yesterday, that we described it correctly, we are preparing the battlefield for future operations. >> i just want to let our viewers know, we're looking at a live image of sderot where nic

robertson was, another flare appeared to come up over the skyline. we're going to keep an eye on that there. jonathan, i want to get to questions of strategy, our reporting indicates that the united states has advised the idf to focus attacks on the air strikes, the strikes that killed some of the architects of the october 7th attack, as well as precise operations raids inside gaza. like those that were carried out last night. but is that going to be enough to eliminate hamas? does the idf need to carry out a ground incursion in gaza? >> right. so, let's talk about this. the cooperation between israel and the u.s. is tremendous, of strategic importance, but israel enjoys full freedom of movement. this is an israeli war against an israeli enemy. and we're going to defeat that enemy, of course, with u.s.

assistance when it comes to weapons and equipment. so, while we have very close ties, the directives that are given to the idf are those of the israeli cabinet. full stop. second thing, we're looking at hamas and i don't want to confuse between what happened last night which was a raid, but it wasn't special forces. these were high-quality infantry units but they were also in tanks. so this isn't special operations. and this isn't spelled in the depth of enemy terrain. this was an early, small tactical incursion into the gaza strip where we prepared the battlefield. some friction with the enemy. we made them pay some in certain casualties. they fired at us, we retaliated fire. then before morning came, we withdrew back into israel. that isn't, you know, how any

terrorist organizations deepen. this is us preparing the battlefield for operations. >> an important distinction there you're making. i did want to get your thoughts in gaza for civilians. i spoke earlier with the communications director at the u.n. agency providing aid in gaza, she reiterated they're running out of fuel, that they urgently need it to keep people alive. i asked if there was any communication with hamas because the idf has essentially told that organization to ask hamas for the fuel. because hamas according to the enemy has hundreds of thousands of liters of it. she said hamas has not given them anything. if they can't get the fuel that idf alleges that hamas has, seems likely that they're not going to. what then happens to the 600,000 innocent civilians the u.n. is helping? >> yes. it is a horrible situation for these civilians to be in. and sigh fi feel for them, and

wouldn't want to be in their place. however, they are the responsibility of the governing authority in gaza. and that is hamas. full stop. not our responsibility. and if hamas cannot find it within themselves to allocate fuel in order to keep hospitals running and to provide food and water for their very own population, then that's something that needs to be dealt with them. it is not our responsibility in any way, since there is fuel in the gaza strip. and it is in the hands of the entity that controls it. and it is their agency and prerogative, what to do with it. they should provide food, fuel, water, everything else to the people under their responsibility. and i think that, you know, the messaging of so many humanitarian organizations, which i'm sure are guided by the love of civilians and the want to do good. the messaging has been off from the beginning. instead of saying, you know,

back on the 16th of october, in 24 hours we're going to run out of fuel which the world health organization said and tweeted. and now we're ten days after, and they still have obviously food and fuel. and the whole line of messaging should be we're humanitarian inside gaza, and we need the government of hamas to step up. reprioritize civilians ahead of their military abilities. and provide food, water and fuel to civilians. not try to blame israel, not to look at the world and cry wolf through the international community, and tell those who are responsible for the war and who have been governing the gaza strip for 20 years and that's hamas, nobody else. >> counterclaim from those humanitarian organizations is that they've been reduced to rationing those supplies. so they are running out and it's getting precarious for them. jonathan, quickly, before we go,

i want to give them an opportunity if you have a message to that al jazeera journalist who lost 12 members of his family including his child. they evacuated to a refugee camp to the southern part of gaza that they thought would be safe. do you have a message for that journalist? >> yes, my message to anybody who is not a combatant and not part of hamas. you are not a target. the idf will not target you or your families. and if anything has happened that was caused by the idf, is regrettable. it the unfortunate circumstances that have brought this. we do not target civilians and that family died as a result of an idf strike which is something we have not yet established, but if that is the case, that is sad and regrettable and it's definitely not something we're trying to do.

jonathan conricus, we have to leave it there. >> of course. we're expecting an update from the hospital in maine after the two mass shootings there. we're following that and the intense manhunt for the suspect believed to be responsible. stay with us. we'll be right back.

♪ all right. john berman here in lewiston, maine. and the breaking news is we just learned the coast guard is now involved in the search for mass shooting suspect robert card.

they are searching from the air and in the water. remember, card's car was found near a boat launch, about ten minutes from where i'm standing which is one of the shooting sites. his car was found right next to the androscoggin river. the coast guard is involved. residents here in lewiston advised to shelter in place in their homes and cars. pastor littleton is here. pastor, thank you for being with us, first, how are you and your family and congregation, how are you all doing tonight? >> well, thank you for checking on us and having us on today. our church family, our family is basically fine. it's obviously been tragic events, and indeed we've reached out to our congregants to help

them through this struggle that they're facing and their emotions and fear. >> and i do understand, i know your congregation is not far from where i'm standing which is the bar and that people were gathered at the church last night. what was going on? >> well, last night, we our midweek bible study. there was probably about 65 of us there. and it was -- we heard several sirens. and stuff throughout the course of the hour that we were there. and at the conclusion of our service, we realized that there's some things going on that we needed to shelter in place. that was a very -- >> something i'm sure -- >> -- challenging time. >> i can't imagine you ever thought would happen. >> no, sir.

>> pastor, tell me about lewiston. i'm from new england, loewiston is, i think, one of the hidden gems of maine. this working place. yet beautiful place with really interesting people. talk to me about the community. >> we have a great community. it's a strong community. it's a very diverse community. and it is, i do believe, it is a gem and the great thing about this community is that they are strong. they are resilient. and we will bind together. and get through this together. >> right now, that means sheltering in place. there's this shelter in place order for lewiston and for bowdoin and lisbon. what's that like for you and the church, as everyone here is being told to secure your homes, secure your cars? >> yeah.

that's -- it's not a fun experience. and i think it brings a continued sense of apprehension in the lives of many people. for some, it's an inconvenience to be, you know, stuck in your house again. but for others, this is, as this drags on, i have sensed a real apprehension in some people's lives. and, you know, worried about what happens. you know, it's okay now when it's light, but in a few hours it's going to be dark, and this man is still on the loose. >> that's a good point. about 90 minutes left of light here. a lot of apprehension about what will happen when the nighttime does come. pastor todd little. we appreciate you being with us. we are thinking about you. we are thinking about your congregation. please stay safe tonight. >> thank you so much. >> all right. we're following the breaking

news how of lewiston, maine, 18 people killed here in two separate shootings. a suspect on the run. the manhunt intensifying. we'll be right back.

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officials on this. >> reporter: this was a close call and it's something that u.s. defense officials say is happening with increasingly regularity over the south china sea. in a statement, indo-pacific command, they said this particular jet was flying with uncontrolled excessive speed in front of and within 10 feet of the b-52 bomber putting both aircraft in danger of collision. it was an extremely close call to put it in perspective, the u.s. military considers intercepts like this to be dangerous within 50 or 100 feet of the u.s. aircraft so 10 feet is close indeed. this comes on the heels of the u.s. military. saying this is frequent. the chinese military has increasingly intercepted u.s. aircraft, over 180 incidents they have seen since 2022, and according to the senior official

in charge he said it is a centralized and concerted campaign to perform the risky behaviors in order to coerce a change in lawful u.s. activities . so the u.s. saying the reason they do this is to try to intimidate the u.s. and get them out of this airspace. clearly a concern because the risk of collision is high. >> thank you for the reporting. stay with cnn for all the e breaeaking news. "the lead" with jake tapper starts after a quick break. stay with us.