Lewiston shooter's ex-girlfriend doesn't believe he was trying to target her

AUBURN — Johanna Carr was at home when she heard the news. Something was happening in Lewiston.

A friend wanted to know if she was okay, so Carr started Googling to see what happened and posted an article about a mass shooting. When a photo of the shooter was released, Carr did not immediately recognize him as her ex-boyfriend, Robert Card.

“I saw his picture and I didn’t even think about him to be honest,” Carr, 38, said in an interview Friday. Card had lost weight and let his hair grow out – he had a shaved head when they were together in late 2022.

Carr said she became concerned later that night for her safety. The police came to her house and searched her garage. She asked if she could leave to live with a friend.

“He knew I lived here,” she said. “He was here and yeah, I didn’t know what to think but I have kids here. So I ended up leaving and staying with a friend until we found out he had been found.

In the months following the Oct. 25 shootings at Schemengees Bar & Grille and Just-in-Time Recreation, there was much speculation about Card's motives and whether he was trying to target anyone. one in particular, including his ex-girlfriend.

Carr, who dated Card for a few months before breaking up with him in January 2023, said she asks herself that question, too. But ultimately, she doesn't think Card was looking for her that night.

“I think he could have figured out that I wasn't at Cornhole, which is the only place I could have been,” she said. “I would never have gone bowling. I don't have an answer to my relationship with that, I guess. I'm having a hard time because some people say it's because he was going after an ex-girlfriend or something, and I don't have that answer. I don't think anyone does.

Carr has mostly avoided interviews and spoken publicly about the shootings in the months since Card killed 18 people and injured 13 others. She agreed to speak about Card in an interview Friday after Maine State Police released thousands of pages of documents from their investigation, one of which said she “easily could have been” in the alley at the time of the attack.

Carr said she didn't know where that information would come from. She said it could be a different date on the card or just misinformation.

She said she broke up with Card in January 2023 after talking about their future not aligning, and he briefly dated another girl who they played cornhole with after that.

While they were together, Carr said she and Card often played at Schemengees and went bowling — although they played more often in Portland than at Just-in-Time in Lewiston.

Carr said she wouldn't have been at Just-in-Time the night of the shooting and thinks Card would have known because she didn't play it often. He could also have checked the Cornhole League app on his phone to see if she was at Schemengees.

“At that time, I was playing on Tuesday nights, and everyone can see it on the app on their phone,” she said.

NEVER THREATENED OR HURT

Before their breakup, Carr said she noticed unusual behaviors from Card, although he never threatened or tried to hurt her.

He spoke of people, including Joe Walker, the manager of Schemengees, who thought he was a pedophile. Walker was among the 18 victims. Carr thinks this could stem at least in part from the fact that Card was spotted there with her children while they were out together. But she doesn't believe anyone actually talked about Card being a pedophile.

Card could also be irritable and “very sporadic in his behavior,” Carr said.

One day, while bowling, she said they were having a general conversation about finances and how much money people spend, and Card got up and walked out.

“I really had to replay the conversation to understand how she got to that point and I just couldn't diagnose the reason why you were leaving,” she said.

She said Card later apologized, “but there was just no rhyme or reason.”

It wasn't until December that Carr realized the full length of a text message her ex had sent her in June. The message mentioned that people were talking about him and he said he was having trouble making himself understood.

Carr said she wondered if more could have been done to help Card, if she personally could have done more.

She said it was disheartening to hear how Card's family members tried to get him help, without success. And how Card's cries for help through his threats and warnings went unheeded.

“At the end of the day, I don't think I could have done anything, although I'm like, 'Could I have contacted someone when he was acting a little crazy and I broke up with him?' ” Carr said. “But in hindsight, no. He never hurt me. I have never been in a position where I felt threatened. I don't think there's anything I could have done personally, and I feel bad that those who tried didn't succeed. »

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