Gunman sought help 'after hearing voices' before deadly massacre spree

AT least 22 people were feared dead today and 60 more injured after a man armed with a military-style assault rifle opened fire in a bowling alley and bar in the US state of Maine.

- Anthony France

Police launched a massive manhunt and were looking for “armed and dangerous” Robert Card, a US Army reserve firearms instructor with 20 years of military service.

The 40-year-old recently spent time at a mental health facility after hearing voices, according to an internal police notice.

CCTV images show the killer walking into the Spare time Recreation bowling alley at about 7pm local time last night (11pm UK time) in the city of Lewiston before starting shooting.

At least 100 people, including around 20 children, were said to be in the bowling alley. Police then received calls about a shooting at a second location, the bar and grill, around four miles away.

Lewiston, a small city of about 38,000 residents, was put on lockdown. Sheriff Eric Samson of Androscoggin County said a children’s party had been taking place at the bowling alley.

He said officers had found Card’s white Subaru vehicle at a boat dock in the nearby town of Lisbon, but the suspect was nowhere to be seen. The massacre was already the deadliest of 565 mass shootings in America this year.

Hundreds of police officers were involved in the manhunt, with local media this morning reporting that the search was focused near a secondary school in Lisbon Falls.

“We have literally hundreds of police officers working around the state of Maine to investigate this case,” Maine public safety commissioner Mike Sauschuck told a news conference.