With the most intense night of israeli airstrikes to date. We have reports unconfirmed by nbc news at this time of israeli troops crossing into gaza from the north and clashing with hamas fighters. Information is scarce. Right now, gaza is in a near total communications blackout. Gaza is the largest internet provider, as well as multiple gaza Cell Phone Service providers, they are all off line. That is due to both lack of fuel, and infrastructure that has been destroyed. The humanitarian aid group, red crescent, reports that without Cell Phone Service, they are now unable to dispatch their ambulances. The World Health Organization says it has lost contact with its staff, and its Health Facilities in gaza. Just hours ago, nbc news managed to make contact with a member of the nbc crew in gaza, he told nbc, ive managed to get connectivity for a minute with a lot of difficulty and i wanted to let you know that all internet, electricity, and everything has been cut off. The situation we are and its difficult, so difficult, and very dangerous. We are being extensively shelled by artillery and by air. Every strt is affected, people are carrying their dead and injured in the most basic methods. All on trolleys and in tucked ox. Even ambulances dont dare go out. Right now, in gaza, its around 40 am. And all night, one of the only visuals we have been able to get out of this region has been footage from cameras sat up on the israeli side of the border, looking into gaza. [sound of artillery] as you can see, they show the pitch block of night, steadily interrupted by the Orange Gralow of explosions. The nighttime silence upended by the sounds of israel exponentially increasing its air strike. Some of the only other images we are getting out of gaza are from the israeli military. This is footage released tonight by the Israeli Defense forces. Nbc news cannot confirm the veracity of this video, or if it was shot at the time or location that the idf is claiming. But the idf says it is the Night Vision Footage of israeli tanks in gaza, on the outskirts of gaza city tonight. The idea of claims that its forces have already entered and exited the area, and that the action was carried out to prepare the battlefield ahead of a Ground Invasion. This is yet more footage, the idf put out tonight, again, nbc news cannot verify the accuracy of this. But the idea if this is video of an Israeli NavalCommando Unit landing and carrying out a strike against hamas infrastructure in southern gaza. That is the area of gaza that israel has asked gazans civilians to flee to. Now, again, we do not know if this is the start of the full scale Ground Invasion that we have been anticipating, or if it is not. On the record, the idfs official statement this afternoon was only that it was increasing the Ground Operation in gaza, not explicitly that israel was launching a full invasion. Minutes after that, news broke, msnbcs katie tur interviewed one of Prime Minister netanyahus current advisors, mark regev, and over live images of bombs falling in gaza, he told her this. You can be sure that if you are in a hamas bunker somewhere, if you are in a hamas tunnel, if you are in a hamas stronghold, that we are going to come and find, you and we are going to eliminate that target. Hamas will pay for its crimes against humanity. Hamas will pay for slaughtering our people. Tonight, we are starting payback. The situation in gaza right now has the entire world on edge. Today, in a landslide vote, the Un General Assembly called for an immediate humanitarian truth. The u. S. And israel were among the 14 countries that voted against that resolution. President Bidens NationalSecurity Council spokesperson, john kirby, held a briefing for reporters today. But he would not comment on the israeli militarys increased activity in gaza. But tonight, the Washington Post, citing five u. S. Officials familiar with the discussions, the Washington Post reports that behind the scenes, the Biden Administration is urging israel to rethink a major ground offensive. The administration is worried that a Ground Invasion could result in numerous casualties among Palestinian Civilians, as well as israeli soldiers, potentially triggering a dramatic escalation of hostilities in the region. Innovating, tonight, the New York Times reports that Saudi Arabian officials warned the u. S. That and israeli Ground Invasion would be of devastating blow to stability in the middle east. Just hours ago, the State Department recommended that all u. S. Citizens in lebanon, israels neighbor to the north, that they leave lebanon now, while commercial flights remain available. Joining me now, from the Israel Gaza Border is nbc news correspondent, ellison barber. Ellison, thank you for joining me tonight. Could you tell us what you have been seeing across the border in gaza, this evening . Yeah, gaza is just in the direction behind me. You can sort of make out through the haze what would be the start of gaza, where just to the north of gaza. Tonight, we have heard, what i would describe as the heaviest whats our, plan we do this and then into gaza. Since weve been out, here weve been reporting on the ground here for about three weeks, alex, the last hour, its gotten a little bit quieter. Weve heard in just the last couple minutes a couple rounds of artillery headed in the direction of gaza. Then theres been a bit of a law. All but for about three and a half, four hours, theres been constant booms heading in the direction of gaza. Coming from really every angle of this section of the border. Hamass military wing, they have said that their forces engaged Israeli Forces inside of gaza, near the city of beta noon, which is not far from where we are. Just a few miles from here. You are describing the Communications Situation inside of gaza, and really no one has heard much from anyone inside of gaza for hours now. It is very early hours in the morning now, and the last time, according to the last time we were told of service being in gaza, it was before 8 30 pm local time. So it has been hours and hours without any sort of communication. Really making its way out in any sort of significant manner. Look, our team that is on the ground, you described this as well, theyve been able to send out at least one message talking about what they are seeing. Saying this is happening on every single street, the people who are dead and injured are being transported, trying to get help by trolleys and tuck talks. Again, it started to get a little bit quiet here, but this is absolutely been the most tense night weve had on the border with gaza since weve been reporting here. Its been almost three weeks now. I think back to what netanyahu said when he addressed Israeli Citizens on wednesday, he told them we are raining hellfire on hamas. This is just the beginning. He went on in that on Wednesday Night to say Hamas Terrorists are dead man walking, above ground or below ground. The reality for palestinians, for civilians living inside of gaza is that they really dont have a lot of safe places to go. Israeli forces have encouraged civilians to evacuate south of the river, saying that they will focus most of their military efforts on gaza city, and in the north. But we have still seen consistently, almost every single day, airstrikes in the southern part of gaza. The u. N. Humanitarian coordinator for gaza said that civilians there have been given an impossible choice, that Evacuation Orders in advance, in her view, dont really mean anything when people dont have a safe place to go. When the highways that theyve been told to use are being bombed, and are not safe. And when they havent gotten any signed of assurances about when or if they will be able to come home. She said they are given impossible choices, and ultimately, nowhere in gaza is safe. Alex. Alison barber, thank you for that really important reporting tonight, as we watch the area. Thank you, stay safe, ellison. I want to bring in now john brennan, former cia director and msnbc senior National Security and intelligence analyst. Mr. Brennan, thank you for joining me tonight. I just wonder how ellison barbers reporting for msnbc on the border, with gaza, in israel. I wonder what these images, what the dramatic escalation in bombings, what the presence of israeli troops apparently reportedly battling hamas fighters, what that tells you about where we are in this conflict . Well, alex, i believe this really is the initial phase of whats going to be a ground offensive. It would make a lot of sense for israel to cut off the internet, electricity in the area, so that their forces can control the environment with Night Vision Goggles and equipment. Also, theyre sending in these Tactical Units to eliminate hamas units that may be in the way of the Ingress Routes that israel is going to take. Also, maybe to collect additional intelligence, and to maybe go after some of the targets where they believe some of the hostages are held. I do believe that with the buildup of these Israeli Forces along the border, and now this activity, i do think that we are not far away from the larger Israeli Force that will move in on the offensive against hamas. Ive got to ask you, do you feel given the imminent nature of this full scale Ground Invasion, do you believe that this is in its way a rebuke to the Biden Administrations and treaty that israel delay this Ground Invasion, to give it more time to establish more of a humanitarian corridor, and to the Washington Post is reporting tonight that the Biden Administration, since october 7th, has had a considerable, shall i say, not an official change of heart, but is very worried about the aftereffects of a major Ground Incursion on the part of the israelis. I can fully understand why the Biden Administration is concerned about it a dramatic escalation following an offensive move by israel. Israel probably believes, the israeli government, that it cannot indefinitely delay this ground offensive, keeping the large number of forces on the border indefinitely is not something that is sustainable. The question is whether or not the Biden Administration has been effective in terms of commencing the israelis to scale back the size of this offensive. And to do it in a more methodical and maybe a slower way. So that its not going to be 100,000 troops or so that are going to steam roll over the rest of gaza that is already a lot of rubble. So, i am concerned that if they move forward in force, they could be detrimental to the hostages. But also it can lead to the escalation, that i think i all of us have been very worried about. The big question is how many troops are going to go in, and whether or not the Biden Administration has going to be able to convince them to scale back the scale of this it and that degree which netanyahu is even listening to biden, mark rideout, won of netanyahus senior officials, said today on msnbc, i can tell you that there is the closest cooperation that we have ever had between the u. S. And israel. And we are communicating not just daily, we are communicating hourly. Maybe even more. John kirby refused to comment officially on what the u. S. Thought of the increased attacks on the part of israel in gaza, that was this afternoon. How do you read Between The Lines there, but the u. S. Isnt saying, and what israel is saying about the relationship between the u. S. And israel in this very crucial moment . I think the Biden Administration is still firmly committed to supporting israel. Against Hamas Terrorists. At the same time, i think the Biden Administration, like many of us, are very concerned about the number of Palestinian Civilians that have been killed and injured in these pummeling air strikes by israel. So they are trying to make sure that they do whatever possible to continue to show support for israel, but at the same time, to take into account the concerns about growing palestinian casualties. I think they are just being rather cautious, in terms of what it is they say publicly. But i can tell you that there is deep concern, in many corridors, right now, about what is going to unfold in the coming days. Not just in gaza, in terms of continued deaths of young Palestinian Civilians, children, elderly, women, and others, and how that could in fact trigger something much larger. Including from hezbollah in the north. Thats why i think theyre trying im sure that there are almost Constant Contact and communication between the u. S. Officials and israeli officials on the Military Intelligence and diplomatic fronts. I think the word from the United States is caution, and counseling, to be sure that israel understands that there is a very large stake here. Not just for israeli interest, but also for u. S. Interest in the region. Conversely, it sounds like israel wants to publicly suggest that the u. S. Has signed off on this escalation. Right . Thats what i was hearing in regevs statement today. Theres the closest cooperation weve ever had between the u. S. And israel. The u. S. And israel voting together in the Un General Assembly. Not for a humanitarian ceasefire. There seems to be a pronounced effort on the part of israel, especially, in this, our to say, american remains Standing Shoulder to shoulder as we do this. Do you think thats an accurate assessment of israels position here . Absolutely. They want to emphasize, the United States is squarely in israels corner. We are, but, i think there are some caveats there. Which is we dont want israel to unleash a major offensive that is going to then trigger a large conflict that will imperoyal other countries, including the United States, into a major regional conflict. So, i know israel wants to emphasize that the United States continued support. And we will. But israeli officials are using terms like payback. That sounds like its retribution. I know theres a lot of concern, but this does seem like collective punishment, that israeli airstrikes have been wreaking on the palestinian pasta population. Thats why i think the white house is trying to walk a fine line here. Continuing to show strong support to israel, and at the same time, expressing our concerns, both publicly, but mostly privately, i think, about the Escalation Potential of this conflict. Director brennan, thank you for that. Im going to have to break into our segment for some breaking news. The man hunt for the suspected gunman who killed 18 people and wounded 13 others in Lewiston Maine has ended tonight. Authorities tell nbc news that the suspect, robert card, a 40yearold army reservist, has been found dead. Joining me now is nbcs jonathan days. Jonathan, what can you tell us about the latest . For senior Law Enforcement officials are telling myself, tom winter, and any blankest in here at nbc that robert card, the suspected shooter in maine has been found dead. Were tell its in a wooded area, it may be near a Recycling Plant where he once worked. Were waiting for details. We are hearing they are planning to hold a News Conference, perhaps as early as 10 00 tonight, to make the announcement. We can say that a body was found, they believe its him. They are confident that this man hunt is over. This, according to the four sources that weve spoken with. But again, we are awaiting the official word out of maine, and Maine State Police to provide the official announcement in the next hour. Im assuming we do not have any details about how the body was found, whether this was a result of a standoff, or whether this body was found as is, whether theres any information about the cause of death. We do not have those details just yet. We expect to hear from them later. What we are what weve known from the last two days is that theyve had a massive search going on throughout the wooded area around lewiston. Around some of the other surrounding towns. Including near where his vehicle was found, and where the weapon they believe was used in the massacre was found in the trunk of the car. And that he had perhaps gone into the wooded area in and around that area. They believe he had a hand gun still with him. So it is unclear to us we were told he was found dead. That is how all four sources explained this to us. So it would suggest self inflicted. But again, until we hear more from Law Enforcement, that is the best information we have at this time for senior Law Enforcement officials telling us the search appears to be over in maine. A body has been found. They believe it is robert card. They are planning to hold an announcement later this evening. Can i ask you, just because we had some reporting on a note that was found in khartoum, i believe, yesterday. It was characterized by abc as a suicide note. Which spoke to tom winter, im not sure i would characterize it as such. Do you have any more reporting on that . Our best information on that was it was a note that was left behind in his home, along with his cell phone, and in that note, it listed his financials. It may suggest, hey, if i die, this is where you can find this bank account, this money for whoever. Perhaps, that is how some read it as a suicide note. Others saw is its just a financial letter rambling, we didnt have much priority, so they did not go that far. So it was a letter, it lent some credence to the thought that maybe hes out there, and has taken his own life, given all his mental difficulties. Given all the problems the family said he was experiencing with mental illness, and making threats in the past. But again, the way that note was explained to us, it wasnt a clear cut suicide note, as some have described. We know that the Law Enforcement was sifting through, i think, hundreds of tips from citizens to recognize card, or had ideas about where he might be hiding. We dont have any sense that any of that led to nothing apprehension, but the discovery of his body, do we . All we know, again, is that this is just breaking just in the last 15 to 30 minutes, that a body has been discovered in the woods. Theyre confident that it is their suspect. That the search had been going on, as you know, they were searching in the river all day today. They lifted the stayathome orders for the surrounding communities, which perhaps give you some suggestion that they were leaning towards its likely a suicide situation at this point. But until you find him, and until you know, you dont. The fact that they found in this quickly, it is extraordinary, given the amount of territorial terrain they had to cover. Weve seen just this past week in maryland, where a judge was shot and killed. It took them a week to find the body of the suspected shooter, who was found dead in the woods, just him off from his car. So we anxiously await word from Law Enforcement officials for more details. But for different line forsman officials reaching out to us tonight, to say yes, they believe the suspect has been found dead in the woods, perhaps near a Recycling Plant up in maine. Just again, if youre joining us right now, the suspect in the alleged suspect in the massacre in lewiston, maine, we believe has been found dead. Theres going to be a Press Conference at ten pm, we will bring that to you when it happens. Jonathan, just to put a pin in it, the area where they found the body, can you give us a sense of that, again, in terms of the geography of where the shootings took place, and where the body has been found . I dont have the specific location where the body has been found. I just got to another source confirming that. So we now have five senior Law Enforcement officials saying the body has been found. Yes, confirmed. The question is where . What we do know is that the shootings took place act that Bowling Alley. And at that bar. Then the car drove several miles to this lisbon town, parked near the dock near that river, and he then vanished. Again, its very hard to trace him. He didnt have a cell phone on him. The woods are there. So how far did you go . Did you travel by foot . Did he happen to get a ride somewhere . Unclear. All that we know is that five sources are now telling us, robert card has been found dead in the woods, it must be quite a relief for that surrounding community up in maine. Amid this heartbreak of victims aged 14 to their 70s, in a Bowling Alley. Some of them in the deaf community. Unclear why he targeted those locations, still, at this time. We dont have clarity. Theres been some discussion that it was perhaps anger over a woman who he had a crush on or one stated and that she frequented these places. Theres other talks that was because he was Hearing Voices in his head and were hearing aids at times and had all these mental issues, that he maybe was looking at this deaf community, perhaps, because they were having an event at the Bowling Alley. Its all speculation. We dont know why. We may never know why, in cases like this. Its tragic, its terrible. They do, again, have the gun, an Assault Weapon recovered from the car. They are running Ballistics Tests on it to see if the gun found in that white subaru was in fact the weapon used to shared all those victims. That he still had at least a handgun on him, deborah to handgun, as described to us by three line for smith officials, as to whether that was the gun used and whether it was a self inflicted gunshot wound, we are going to have to wait for the Press Conference. Or if more information comes in from my colleagues, eddie blanks, dean and tom winter, who are working very hard at this at well at this time. We have five Lauren Forsman officials telling us the suspect in the main shooting has been found dead in the woods, in maine, near where his car was abandoned. Perhaps near a Recycling Plant where he may have worked. I dont have clarity, thats just one source explaining that. So please, a big grain of salt. This is all coming in in pieces. Of course. Yes. Some of what we are saying obviously may change as we learn more, we are doing the best we can with a preliminary information we are getting from our sources. Things can, and will change. But certainly, a huge sigh of relief for that yes, for that immediate community. The immediate threat of a gun man on the loose appears to have been neutralized. Jonathan, you have important reporting to do. I appreciate you bearing with my questions. Hopefully well have more answers at that 10 00 Press Conference. If you could hang with me for just a moment, please use your phone, confirm whatever you need to. But i want to bring in nbc news correspondent, george soliz. Who joins me from lisman maine tonight. George, thank you for making the time. Can you tell us about how this news is traveling through the community, and any details you may have on the ground . Yeah, good evening, alex. Obviously this information just breaking right now. For some context, right, now we actually just saw a flurry of police flying down the road here on lisbon street. We actually saw an ambulance going in the opposite direction here. Kind of culminating now with what we are learning from the Law Enforcement sources, it would make sense that they are now moving to this area where presumably robert cards body has been found. Of course, here in this, area this was the center of the search zone today. This is where that white subaru was found early on. Where that weapon was recovered that weve been trying to verify, if it was the same weapon used in fact in this mass shooting. Authorities here that were staging, telling us they were going to be searching by land and by the water. They had dive teams there in the water today, seeing if they could find any trace of a body. Theyre using sonar, theyre using thermal imaging technology, a little while ago i was speaking with the Family Member of a person who lost someone in this shooting. Of course, they have not learned about this latest development. The people here have been reeling. Theyve been trying to find some information, whether or not robert card would be found at some point. Whether it be alive, or dead, so this news has to travel to them tonight. And weather how its received, obviously, remains to be seen. Were expecting to learn more, as youve mentioned, at that 10 00 Press Conference. Right now. But of course, these communities, i should say, have been paralyzed. Theyve been living life on pause. There was a shelter in place offer that was only rescinded today. Tomorrow the Hunting Season starts. Officials say four communities here were still not going to be allowed to hunt as this man hunt continued. How that develops, and obviously changes here in the coming hours remains to be seen. But again, this has been such a tense, tense situation in this community. With the amount of Law Enforcement that have been here. Again, here in this area, this search was going to continue tomorrow here at daybreak. They were being very meticulous. They were using gps to basically pinpoint areas along the river they had been in so they wouldnt go back to it again. They were putting ribbons on traits. Again, very, very Fluid Situation here as we are learning these new details. Again, phone is ringing right now, as a matter of fact, just people trying to get more information about this as we are on the air. We are waiting to see what this 10 00 Press Conference reveals, to learn more about this, alex. George, hang with us if you can. I want to bring back in Jonathan Dienst, who is Doing Reporting on set here. Youve anything new for us . Yeah, we now have a sixth source confirming that his has been found dead. The six the source says its a selfinflicted gunshot wound, got recovered next to the body. Its near that Recycling Center. This person, this is now just one source, granted salt, because we are piecing this together. Of course. Says the suspect used to work at that Recycling Center. They have recently lost a job, or a chance at a job there. I dont have the clarity on that. Nonetheless, his body was found, near a Recycling Plant, perhaps where he used to work, or wanted to get a job back at. It appears to be self inflicted gunshot wound, this is now pieced together from six different line forsman sources, speaking with myself, tom winter, andy blanks dean, all saying the same thing. That the suspect has been found dead in the woods, near where the shooting scenes took place. And perhaps outside a Recycling Plant where he may have once worked. I know im asking you questions you may not have the answers to, but bear with me, this area, because its near a place of interest where he used to work, i summit was on the radar, for a line for cement authorities. Give any sense of whether they have searched that area before i guess im trying to establish a potential timeline here. To have any sense that they had combed that area once . Again, im not up there. I dont know. I dont know what kind of chart they have hundreds of police officers. Think about the area they have to search, from bowden where he lived, two miles away in lewiston, the city where the shooting took place. To miles away in lisbon, where the car was found. To all of the wooded area and the length of that river, and where the dams are. So you think about the grid they have to do, and do some searching. You would think that perhaps they were out at that plant to question perhaps former coworkers, former employers, if thats where he used to work, again, i dont have that clarity. I apologize for not having that detail yet. But if that is the case, it would make sense that they would be perhaps doing some work there, and doing some searching in and around there. And as they grid and closed in, and brought in more resources, they found this suspect. I was speaking with several officials today who were bracing for what could have been if it was a suicide scenario, that it could be could take days, because of the amount of terrain they would have to cover, and the difficulty in finding someone in heavily wooded, somewhat rural areas. Yes, lewiston is a small city. But its surrounded by rural communities. They have their work cut out for them. Its really impressive, if the former announcement comes, that six Law Enforcement sources say within 48 hours or so, they were able to find the body of the suspected shooter. Again, the latest, the sixth source we just spoke to, says a gun was found next to the body. It appears to be self inflicted. The man hunt, it appears, is now over for the main shooter, who killed 18 people in that Bowling Alley and that bar that evening. Just tragedy on tragedy, if youre just joining us right now. Jonathan dienst reporting that the success did sputter robert card has been found dead, likely of a self inflicted gunshot wound. This is a Fluid Situation, this is early reporting. That is what we have right now. Do we still have george solis on the ground in maine . George, are you there . Welcome back to george. Joining me now is frank figliuzzi, former of course, an msnbc National Security analyst. Frank, the man hunt is effectively over, it sounds like according to Jonathan Dienst reporting. Nbc reporting. What is the next step . We know that theres a Press Conference thats happening in 30 minutes, or at least weve been told theres a Press Conference scheduled for the next 30 minutes. Would you imagine line forsman is looking to do at this hour . First, i am grateful, even in this tragic incident, that this was not a protracted search for a body, as weve already discussed. It couldve been a problem. Can we get george soliz back . Im sorry, are you hearing me . Frank, go ahead. Yeah, so, now we turn to the investigative leg of this investigation. Where they are going to be looking at motives, warning signs, and indicators, who knew what when . Whether this couldve been fixed presented, whether theres new legislation that needs to be addressed. Although a couple things. One, we heard in the Afternoon Press Conference today, from the Public Safety commissioner that he had rescinded the shelter in place order for the entire area. And i wonder then maybe well find out later tonights Press Conference, whether there was some indication, even this evening, that perhaps the subject was deceased. Whether or not that played into a decision to rescind the shelter in place order, or whether it was just a pragmatic thing. Where we cant keep cities locked down forever. I know that, secondly, as we study Spree Killers throughout history, and this was a spree killing, meaning multiple killings in a very compressed period of time, we know, historically, that they only end in two ways. The police and it, by fatally stopping the subject, or the subject commits suicide. It certainly appears that thats what happened here. Its an interesting tie in. Possibly to the letter that was found, and vague references to perhaps hear on my finances because i cant intend to live much longer. Maybe, maybe. All of that comes together, but moving, forward now, its all about exploiting his social media, exploiting his hard drives, his computer online activity, doing Literally Hundreds of interviews to determine who knew what when, so that we can learn from this and hopefully somehow, even in the state of maine, perhaps, fix any gaps that exist in. We were talking the night this all began, to unfold, one of the things that i think struck both you and i was the fact that robert card was not masked when he committed these heinous crimes. He walked into these venues with no disguise on. You could see his face, very clearly. Just based on that alone, you and other experts we spoke to thought that is not a good sign. This guy is in it, understanding that he likely has no future after this. Yeah, we did indeed discuss that, alex. Yes, someone who has no intention of evading the police doesnt care if they are fully identified. In fact, thats part of why they are doing this. They have some perceived wrong that needs to be righted. They want people to know who did it. The indicators were, theyre combined with the historical analysis of Spree Killers. This is how this played out. Im thankful that no one else, in addition to the already tragic number of victims, has been hurt. Im grateful that no Law Enforcement officer had to encounter him, and perhaps get harmed. Here we are, lots of questions, maybe some of them might get answered this evening. Certainly in the weeks moving forward. Frank, one more question for you. Jonathan dienst, who is reporting this out as we speak, suggested that the early reporting says that the body was found near in the woods near a Recycling Center where card may have once worked, or may have been fired from. Do you read anything into that in terms of a profile here about this person, and what may have motivated him in terms of choosing these specific locations, both for the shooting of others, and potentially himself . Yeah, its quite possible that this has meaning to the shooter here. Again, i talked about this throughout the coverage, which is often when you do find these people alive, and you interview, them try to get to the core of what throws them to violence. They explain it to you as if its perfectly clear, that you walk away realizing this makes no sense at all. But its perfectly clear to them. So often, this is about perceived offensive, and grudges. Weve heard reporting that Family Members were saying, look, he recently obtained a hearing aid, and when he wore that hearing aid he thought he was starting to hear threats against him, and offensive discussion about him. We kept telling him this is not happening. This is in your head. So, the fact that he chose a place nearby, our place of his, yes, that could have meaning. We still dont really understand the target to targets, that he chose, the Bowling Alley, and the recreation center. The bar. We simply dont know. But for him, im sure he was convinced that it had meaning to him. He was found at the Recycling Center where used to work. A lot of incoming information here. For anyone who is just joining us now, eight senior Law Enforcement sources tell nbc news tonight that robert card, the suspect in Wednesday Nights mass shooting, that killed 18 people in lewiston, maine, those line forsman sources tell nbc news that robert card has been found dead. We now know that he was found in a wooded area, and Law Enforcement is confirming that that wooded area is near the Recycling Center where he used to work. That is also somewhere near the area where he abandoned his car on Wednesday Night. Also, in the proximity of a boat launch in lisbon, maine. The warning that nbc news got from those eight to line for smith sources was that robert card was found dead. We do not know for certain that means he died by suicide, we are getting a lot of information coming in at this time. But we can report, again, that robert card has been found dead. Meaning the 48hour man hunt that has terrorized the state of maine is now over. Joining me now is former Seattle Police chief, carmen best. Chief best, what is your reaction to this. It seems fairly expeditious process, by which they found this individual. Well alex, like everyone else, im feeling a great deal of relief. That this ordeal is over. The residents and officers of line forsman have responded to this very tragic event that is happening in maine. It could have ended in so many other ways. The potential for further bloodshed and for additional casualties was there. The fact that theyve been able to find him, and not have anyone else harmed is a good thing. That took a lot of work. I know for all the Law Enforcement to do this. But they have got a resolution at this point. Chief, just from a Police Chiefs perspective, the shelter in place order was lifted in the area around noon. I think a lot of people thought perhaps that was because it was so onerous and difficult for residents to live under a shelter in place order for multiple days. But other folks thought that might be a sign that they think this individual is no longer on the loose. That he might have died. How do you read that decision, in light of the information we are getting now, that he has been found dead . Well, i have to, say when i heard that they were lifting the shelter in place, my first thought was that theyve honed in on him on some way. I do not know if hes deceased, or not, of course. That was my first thought that they maybe had some indication of a location for this person. So maybe they knew then, or maybe they had a good indication prior to lifting it. Obviously, that will probably come out in the Press Conference, that i would not be surprised. What questions would you have for as a lie enforcement official yourself, what questions would you have for them about all of this . If you are at that Press Conference, from an expert point of view, what remains unanswered in your mind . Well, how long he may have been there, if they had already searched the area, i know the terrain, from what im hearing, anyway, im not familiar with it personally, is heavy vegetation, that sort of thing. Did i could ever dog find it . Find the persons body, or just information about the details of how they got there. Well all be very curious to know. Its been two very long days with a lot of line force meant effort. I give full kudos to the officers and the people who found him. We are glad its resolved. Assuming we want to know how they got to where they were, and where theyre located. Chief best, if you could hang with us for a second. I want to go back to nbcs Jonathan Dienst. I know were getting information in dribs and drabs, theres a lot going on here. To have any other details about this body, where the condition in which it was found a location . Okay, we now have nine line forsman sources hes been found dead by suicide. Ill read you a bulletin that has now been shared internally among Law Enforcement agencies that were all working this, as you, know there were numerous agencies, Main State Police, local police, fbi, atf, theyre all up there. This bulletin has been sent out. Main state police just found cards body near the Recycling Center he used to work at. Okay, so definitively. Thats the bulletin. Again, sometimes these bulletins are close but not exact, because everything is breaking and developing. That has been sent out internally among some line force meant agencies. Can i just ask you is it in the Recycling Center . Or near . Ive heard it both ways. Again, we are in the right church, we are looking for the exact row, in terms of getting this clarity. It is near, im going to stick with near the Recycling Center. Thats where the body was found by Main State Police who were part of this large search for him. Well expect to hear details again from a News Conference later this evening. Exactly how they found him, what led them there, and again, its nearly 10 00 at night. I guess the body was found within the last 45 minutes or so. Around 9 00 this evening. Maybe a little earlier. Thats after nightfall. Its dark in the woods, and yet they were still out there searching, again, maybe its at the recycling facility. Is it in a parking lot . Is it in a back area . Who knows. The body has been found. Multiple, multiple line first mint sources confirming he is dead. This 48hour nightmare is now over. It appears to be a self inflicted gunshot wound. Again, the information we have leading up to tonight was that he was still armed with a handgun. And that the Assault Weapon that he used in the mass killing, that weapon they believe was the one found in the car. Nothing is definitive until ballistics come back. Of course. But that is the best understanding we have at this time. Dead, self inflicted gunshot wound, near or in the Recycling Plant property where he according to Law Enforcement officials, and lie enforcement bulletin, where he used to work. It sounds like, just from the timing here, the shelter in place order was lifted around noon today. They may have been, as chief carmen best of the seattle pd said, honing in on him, or had my best information this afternoon was they really didnt know, there was a lot of thinking among line for spent, given this note, it was not a suicide note, as explained to me. But it was a note that could be interpreted that way. That this note was found, he left his phone behind, one source told us earlier that perhaps in the car his wallet was left behind. Okay. These are all indications of where is this guy think hes going if he doesnt have any of these things. He doesnt have his phone. All he has is himself, and maybe a handgun. So, hes in the woods. Massive search and man hunt throughout that time. Then i think on committed these crimes unmasked. These all indicate someone who is not thinking they are going to be free for much longer, if even alive. That question, i think a lot of people are going to have is if it was suicide, it sounds like it is, when did he commit suicide . But was he wearing when he was found . Did he of anything with him that would evidence being on the run for more than a day, or more than a few hours . Thats going to be an open question. Interesting questions. Good questions. Was there anything caught in the car that he took with him as he fled Into The Woods . It would appear maybe not. If the wallet, again, only one source saying a wallet was in the. Car, but he didnt take the Semi Automatic Weapon that was in the rear. He just banned into the car, apparently fled on foot. Thats a picture of the white subaru that he used, allegedly used to carry out the mass shooting at both locations. Literally, 90 seconds after the first shooting scene, police were arriving as he was driving off. And described by one witness, very calmly, in the white subaru. And he managed to go to that second location, where he again opened fire, took police five minutes in that instance to get on scene, and by, then he had already moved on. Parked that white subaru near the river, in left it basically, you see, it with the door wide open. There is a gun in the back there, apparently. He fled on foot. Then there was 48 hours, where is he . By air, that helicopters, planes, with infrared capabilities, dogs, hundreds of officers, federal agents from atf, fbi, homeland security, all on scene, all searching these woods. Joining the Main State Police, the lewiston police. Searching for this guy who had military training. Think about how dangerous this is. You are sending officers out Into The Woods with a known armed killer. Who has a major fire power, granted, the heavy weapon was found in the car. But what else did he have . We knew we had at least one handgun, and it appears now they saw him with the sources are telling us, that handgun may have been what was used to commit suicide at or near the Recycling Plant where he may have been fired from, or had once worked. And just for perspective, we have grown accustomed to the idea that casualties are created by assault style rifles, but of course, a handgun can do a ton of damage and take many, many lives as well. I do want to just caution, its a Recycling Plant, again, this man had a history of mental illness, according to his family, some real problems, some alcohol issues, and he really spiraled downhill, according to multiple sources, over the last weeks. Whether it was job related. Again, there was talk about, was at the girlfriend . Was that the hearing of the voices in the use of the hearing aids . So, again, we may never know. Can we even answer why . Its just terrible for that community. Well, some relief tonight, at least. I want to go back to nbc news correspondent george scalise, who owns meet joins me from lisbon, maine. And can i ask you, im sorry to spring this on you, but the river where the car was abandoned and this Recycling Center, do you have a sense of how far up those are . Because it sounds like his body was found of the Recycling Center, he abandoned his car shortly after the killings, near the river. Do you know what that distances, by any chance . Alex, its one of the things i am actually looking into right now, just to get a better sense of the dynamics here. Of course we know that this body of water, not too far as far as the length of the towns and all this is connected to. There are some dams here that officials reference they were gonna try to manipulate would agree so they can reduce the flow of water here, so it could help the diggers is they were searching for any clues, whether robert card would be found alive or dead. Here this has been a focal point for the service today. Authorities say they would keep at it in the coming days because they had a lot of ground to cover. They want to be very meticulous, making sure they left literally no stone unturned here, to see whether or not there is any trace of. Them much of this area was centered on information, i should say, on when the car was found. Here authorities sort of left the area, then what we saw last night was at the card property, where a number of police, local state and federal agencies, descended on that property. They were tense moments when you heard the authorities on the loudspeaker saying come out with your hands up. We have you surrounded. Which is of course what authority say standard when theyre executing a warrant there at the property. A lot of the people in this Community Holding their Breath Thinking that was it, that was going to be the moment they were going to take him into custody or find out that the suspect was dead. A few hours, things sort of died down, this morning they had a Press Conference where authorities said they were still following up on as many as 530 tips, anything from potential savings to people who are saying hey, something looks funny in this abandoned shed i want you to check. Out again, authorities saying they were very aggressive. A lot of irons in the fire, very curious to see it 10 00 when they do this press update, what we are learning. More but we are trying to track down specifics to the river here, that has been such a focal point to this Recycling Center, the jonathan, they, or has reference, where this body was found. And again, this is now fluctuating in spreading throughout social medias, so a lot of people, what we are seeing, reading that sigh of relief, saying this is what they were hoping for, some degree so they can get back to a sense of normalcy. Of course now the question is, why he picked out these venues. Of course nothing brings back the people that he killed in a lot of the families i have been talking to over the last several days, and of course the stories are harrowing, many of, them waiting for some kind of update to plan vigils, to plan the funerals, and that is what we are starting to hear as this news breaks out. In many ways, the shelter in place orders would have frozen this moment in time and in some ways probably has, if you will, delayed the full grieving process, because people are still living in heightened terror and that now has ended. A community can begin to process what happened to it. George, can i ask you, in terms of this news making its way around the community, you said social media, has anybody started talking . And secondly, were you aware of line force meant searching into the night . That this wasnt or Around The Clock Endeavor . Yes. So to your first question, the Sheriffs Office sharing this on their Social Media Page immediately you saw the influx of people from this community and from, frankly, around the country, weighing in saying, thank goodness, we can breathe a sigh of relief, were so happy that this has had some resolution. So that is the messaging, again. This is all sort of breaking right now. The search, of course, not by water here, but you can still see the Police Presence that had been here as crews are searching through the woods here. We know that they were a number of teams here. Inside, earlier today we learned that the same Border Agents that we learned in the man hunt for cavalcante, were here aiding authorities in the search. It tells you the massive amount of Police Presence that was here on the ground, is here on the ground, searching for any evidence of robert card, whether he was still in maine, whether he had crossed state lines, and of course now, again, as we are learning that he has been found dead, were expecting all those agencies and the announcement of any other partner that were here working the scene to be announced at this Press Conference. Thanks, george. Were getting about two shortly, but i want to bring in a former member of the fbis hostage rescue team. When you hear about the latest here, which is that robert card, the alleged gunman in this main massacre, has been found dead by self inflicted gunshot wound, near a Recycling Center where he once worked, what are the questions you have, and what do you foresee is the next steps in this investigation . The questions right now are just kind of what led him there . Was it something, where the vehicle was left where he indicated . Im not sure how far the Recycling Center is from that boat ramp. Is It Walking Distance . If its not, a vehicle somehow got there, so were gonna look into that, i think everyones kind of now you want to know why. The priority was to capture him and neutralize without harming anyone else, so now were gonna start looking into the why. And thats gonna take, the same folks out there, and youre gonna look at social media, you gonna talk to Family Members, and such, and i think, if they found the weapon that he used in this shooting, in the vehicle, that may have indicated that he wasnt going about another shooting. He couldve had another vehicle, but i think that with a letter in some other clues, but a lot of these guys go back to places are familiar with. So this is a former employer of his, that hes familiar, with so im sure as youre doing everything else, these are called logical clues, and investigation they went to every place he was associating with, as we saw with the Pennsylvania Escapee he was green bay to coworkers. There are always connections you want to look at. So im sure every place in his life that he ended up doing a very secure Search Warrant Type of thing, with tactical teams, and they came across his body. Can i ask a pretty basic question, rob . Why do killers like this want to go back to places they are familiar with . What is it about that . I think, i just look at it, its someplace, like he fantasized this whole thing prop probably and had an ending that he thought about but it takes a lot to go to some place youre not familiar and theres some meaning in it that you probably talked to a psychologist but you want to go someplace safe or something that means something to you. That was a big difference. Pennsylvania escapee, he wanted to get away. So youre looking at a couple of different scenarios with that. They might have the same thing eluding capture, but he wanted to get away. This guy had something, something he saw, plan, brought him back to someplace familiar. I thought maybe the camping site are hiking area that he was going to or something that he was familiar with, especially if he planned to end his life. He wanted to be some place he knew, i think. What we know is that he was fired from this Recycling Center, and the fact that he chose to end his life near there would suggest to you something abouts mental state, would it not . Or at least his thinking about his life and that termination. Absolutely. That couldve been the trigger. There are probably several things. As we look at his target selection, why did he go to the places he did, was there a person, was or an incident or something along that. It couldve been something he saw that they were having activities and he wanted to go somewhere where there are a lot of people. But i think its pretty big that he got fired from this place and thats where he ended his life. It may have started a whole chain of events that put him in a Mental Health crisis to begin with, of him getting fired, thats a really big hit on your ego and your confidence and everything else. It may have started him down that path to begin with. And then he just wanted to end it full circle. Yeah. There are going to be a lot of secondary questions about why he chose the locations that he did and whether that was, whether those were specific choices or whether they were just the places that he ended up at. A lot of questions tonight. Thank you, rob. I want to turn to nbc senior Law Enforcement analyst, cedric alexander. He served as a member of president of bombers track task force on 24 Century Policing in was a former Public Safety officer for Dekalb County in georgia. How are you looking at long forsmans response here, their decision to lift the shelter in place order earlier today around noon, and the discovery of this body near the Recycling Center where robert card once worked . Well, i think theres a couple of things here that we have to consider. Oftentimes we dont know this, alex, but Law Enforcement is working with information that we may not even be privy to based on the decisions that we would make at the moment. So i think in this particular case, we may not know everything. We can probably speculate, if you will, but the fact that the subject was found some hours after they lifted this ban doesnt necessarily means a correlation between the two. But im quite sure they have made that decision based on some practical information of what they thought would be important to that Community Based on where they were in this investigation. Do you think, i mean, as we talk about what motivated this individual to do this, do you think we will have, i mean, how much can electronic records tell us . In your mind, to your thinking, you know, how should recalibrate our expectations for understanding a motive here . So for me i kind of have to look at this two ways, alex. If i look at it from the perspective of a former chief, a former police officer, and consider everything that was taken into account around this case, how these chilling killings took place, how he moved away from the scene, we consider all those things. And there are certain things that we will now. We can go back. We can look at the technology. We can go back and look inside what was found inside his home, inside and start piecing these things together. And begin to draw some conclusion as to what happened when, leading up to this horrific event. But there are going to be some things that are going to be very difficult to make some determination about, because this subject is not here for us to interview, and for him to be stabilized in a way in which he could give us answers as to the why this occurred, why did he go this way in terms of his methodology around these killings. So there are some things we just will not ever know. We can speculate, we can guess, we can create theory, but thats it. Theres just some things we cannot. No cedric alexander, thank you so much for your time, sir. As we close of the hour, for anyone who is just tuning in, now nbc news now has nine senior Law Enforcement sources telling us tonight that robert card, the suspect and Wednesday Nights mass shooting that killed 18 injured 13 more in lewiston, maine, nine Law Enforcement sources tell abc news that robert card has been found dead. We know that card was found in a wooded area somewhere near the place where he abandoned his car Wednesday Night, and that was near a boat launch in lisbon, maine. One of nbcs Law Enforcement sources tells nbc news that card was found dead from a selfinflicted gunshot wound. That source also tells nbc that card was found with a handgun, and that he was found near the Recycling Plant where he once worked. The Single Source also told nbc that card may have recently had lost his job at that recycling