Vicki Roy and Jill Walker, the older sisters of two men credited with saving lives at a Lewiston bowling alley during the mass shooting on Oct. 25, 2023, are sharing their story one year later, even though their brothers would shun the attention.
“They were both very generous and protective individuals, but never wanting to be recognized for that,” Walker said. “So this is sort of the irony of all of this.”
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Jason Walker and Michael “Mike” Deslauriers II had been best friends since kindergarten. According to their sisters, it was a bond that would stand the test of distance and time. Jason moved away for stretch to join the service and work out west, while Deslauriers never left his hometown of Sabattus, Maine. Yet their friendship continued into adulthood – even their children became friends – and lasted until their final moments.
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“For as long as I can remember, there was Mike and Jason,” said Roy, Deslauriers’s big sister.
As adults, they joined a Sunday night bowling league, with the team name, “here for the beer.”
“If you knew the two of them, that was a fitting name,” Roy added with a laugh.
Jason, his wife Kathy, Deslauriers and his girlfriend, Stacy, were bowling at Just-In-Time Recreation in Lewiston, in the lane closest to the door, on the night of the mass shootings. In fact, Walker said they were moved to that lane at the last minute to swap with a group of children.
The shooter walked in as the couples were about to start their third game. Jason quickly yelled, “Get down,” according to Walker. After firing the first shot, the gunman's weapon jammed. That’s when the two men charged from different angles -- Jason around one side and Deslauriers from behind.
“What I learned since then was that Jason tried to kick the gun out of Robert Card's hands,” Walker said. “They both were able to actually get their hands on (him).”
“Mike's fingerprints were on the gun,” Roy added.
Deslauriers and Jason were shot multiple times at close range, the sisters said. Their act of bravery saved lives that night, according to the final report of the Independent Commission to Investigate the Facts of the Tragedy in Lewiston. The gunman was in the bowling alley for a total of 45 seconds and, according to Roy, he spent 12 of those seconds with Deslauriers and Jason.
“It was long enough for people to be able to get out of the bowling alley,” Roy said. “I think it was instinctual, you know? I think it was just... because it was just who they were.”
Just-In-Time Recreation was one of two stops for the shooter, who caused the deadliest mass shooting in Maine’s history. Deslauriers and Jason’s families didn’t know where they were – or if they survived – until the next day.
“We'd called every hospital in New England that night… the next morning we called the Lewiston Police Department. We called the Androscoggin County Sheriff. We called the state police. We called everybody we could think of just to try to get any information we could about him,” Roy said, “and there was nothing. Nobody could tell us anything.”
“Not knowing where he was -- for me -- it was a nightmare,” Roy said. “I remember -- until I saw the police car come pulling down his driveway -- I remember I just had a small glimmer of hope that maybe he made it.”
The sisters' sudden loss quickly became very public. In the first few days, Roy recalled feeling somewhat “disrespected,” as officials gave updates about the investigation while the victims’ families watched from home with unanswered questions. Walker recalled an announcement from Gov. Janet Mills on Oct. 27, 2023, that the shooter had been found dead.
“Like many people, I’m breathing a sigh of relief tonight knowing that Robert Card is no longer a threat to anyone,” Mills said two days after the mass shooting.
“This was really hard for me,” Walker said. “I was very angry because, at this point, I still didn't know where my brother's body was... I was so angry with that because... because nothing was going to bring my brother back.”
Walker and Roy found themselves immersed in the investigation, commission hearings and documentation that were released in the months after. It became an active distraction that delayed the grieving process, Walker said, as she tried to “make sense of something that was so senseless.” Roy said she was triggered at the sight of their brothers' names listed among the total of 18 people who lost their lives that night.
“We’re protective big sisters and it just felt like we'd lost them to something else,” Roy said. “It was probably the six-month mark where I kind of came to the realization that I'd lost Mike. That he was… he was gone.”
Now they’re sharing their story, even though Deslauriers and Jason wouldn’t want the attention, because the final commission report found several missed opportunities to intervene.
“It becomes more meaningful because they both had the courage and the bravery to finally confront Robert Card where nobody else did,” Roy said. “And they were unarmed. You know, two middle-aged men in bowling shoes finally stood up to him and did the right thing.”
