A heartbroken father has told how his son was shot dead after using a butcher’s knife to try to stop the massacre of mass shooter Robert Card at the bar where he worked.
Leroy Walker said his son Joseph, who managed Schemengees Bar & Grille in Lewiston, used his final moments to save lives before he was killed by the gunman, starting his rampage Wednesday at the nearby Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley.
“My son grabbed a butcher knife and went after the shooter to try to stop him from killing other people,” the councilman said. ‘Then he shot my son dead. He tried to save more lives, but in the end he lost his life.”
Speaking on CNN on Friday morning, he added: “I’m very proud of my son. I know he would definitely do this again if this happened. Throughout my life and throughout my son’s life, we’ve had to deal with a lot of other things that were sometimes crazy in life.”
Walker senior said the bar served as a meeting place for the community, who consider each other as family.
Joseph Walker, 57, was the son of Auburn City Councilman Leroy Walker and manager of Schemengees Bar & Grille in Lewiston
“My son grabbed a butcher knife and went after the shooter to try to stop him from killing other people,” said City Councilman Leroy Walker.
Leroy Walker said his son Joseph, who managed Schemengees Bar & Grille in Lewiston
The bar manager reportedly used his last moments to save lives before being killed by the gunman
Law enforcement officers continue their investigation at the Schemengees Bar
‘This place brings thousands of people in a year. And Joe is usually the first face they see coming through the door and the last they see out the door. It’s going to be hard for a lot of people,” Walker said through tears.
“For myself and my family and his wife and grandchildren, stepchildren, they are a loving family.”
Walker Sr. further explained that despite his grief, he harbors no anger toward the shooter.
“You have to put that part out of your mind. You have to let the law do what it needs to do,” he said. “If this person was in his right mind at the time, I believe he would have been a loving person just like us.”
The 40-year-old shooting suspect is still on the run more than 24 hours after Wednesday’s disaster.
At least 18 people were killed and another 13 injured in the disaster. This means it is likely the deadliest mass shooting of 2023. The shooting is the 34th mass killing involving more than four victims in the US this year.
Hundreds of law enforcement officers are searching for Card, an oil supply specialist who received psychiatric treatment this summer after reporting hearing voices and having thoughts about hurting other soldiers.
Law enforcement officers, right, stand next to armored and tactical vehicles, center, near a property on Meadow Road, in Bowdoin, Maine, Thursday evening
FBI agents staged a dramatic raid on a family property Thursday night, but Card remains on the run — as experts warned the deer hunter and Army reservist was well-equipped to survive in the wild and could even be planning another attack.
The Canada Border Services Agency issued an “armed and dangerous” alert to its officers along the Canada-U.S. border as the search entered its second day Friday.
Survivors and relatives have begun speaking out after the bloody massacre at Schemengees Bar and Grille and the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley in Lewiston, the state’s second city.
Colonel William G. Ross of the Maine State Police said seven of the victims were found at the Just-In-Time bowling alley: one woman and six men, all of whom had apparent gunshot wounds.
A further eight victims were found at Schemengees Bar and Grille: seven men were discovered inside and one outside, all also with apparent gunshot wounds.
Many more people were rushed to area hospitals, where some were pronounced dead.
Bill Young and his 14-year-old son Aaron were shot to death at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, Bill’s brother Rob Young said.
Before learning of their deaths, Rob had flown from Baltimore to Lewiston on Thursday to assist his sister-in-law in her frantic search for information after the couple had not been heard from since Wednesday when they went bowling.
Young joined Bob Violette, 76, who also died in the massacre that broke out at the Just In Time Recreation bowling alley, formally known as Sparetime, and Schemengee’s Bar and Grille, according to his daughter-in-law Cassandra.
Tricia Asselin, 53, who worked at the bowling alley, was also confirmed dead in the harrowing hours after the senseless massacre.
Bryan MacFarlane, 40, who played cornhole with his deaf friends, Arthur Strout, 41, and Ron Morin were also pronounced dead by family and friends.
Peyton Brewer-Ross, 40, and Steve Vozzella, 45, were also identified as victims by their family, friends and co-workers.
The bowling alley’s manager, 34-year-old Tom Conrad, was also pronounced dead.
On Thursday it emerged that Card may have been looking for his ex at the bowling alley and bar where he opened fire.
And police sources told ABC News that he left a suicide note addressed to his son.
The note did not provide a motive for the mass shooting, the sources said.
Court documents show that his ex-wife filed for divorce in 2007 and they were awarded joint custody of their child, although it is unclear whether she is his most recent ex.
