LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — A person shot and killed not less than 16 folks at a restaurant and a bowling alley in Maine after which fled into the evening, sparking an enormous search by tons of of officers whereas frightened residents stayed locked of their houses Thursday underneath a shelter-in-place advisory.
A police bulletin recognized Robert Card, 40, as a person of curiosity in the attack in Lewiston that despatched panicked bowlers scrambling behind pins, into corners and a again room when pictures rang out round 7 p.m. Wednesday. Card was described as a firearms teacher believed to be within the U.S. Army Reserve and assigned to a coaching facility in Saco, Maine.
The doc, circulated to regulation enforcement officers, mentioned Card had been dedicated to a psychological well being facility for 2 weeks in the summertime of 2023. It didn’t present particulars about his therapy or situation however mentioned Card had reported “hearing voices and threats to shoot up” the army base. A phone quantity listed for Card in public information was not in service.
Lewiston Police mentioned in an earlier Facebook publish that they had been coping with an lively shooter incident at Schemengees Bar and Grille and at Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) away. Numerous mother and father and youngsters had been at Sparetime as a part of a kids’s bowling league.
Ten-year-old Zoey Levesque, who was there along with her mom, advised WMTW-TV she was grazed by a bullet.
“It’s scary,” she mentioned. “I had never thought I’d grow up and get a bullet in my leg. And it’s just like, why? Why do people do this?”
One bowler, who recognized himself solely as Brandon, mentioned he heard about 10 pictures, considering the primary was a balloon popping.
“I had my back turned to the door. And as soon as I turned and saw it was not a balloon — he was holding a weapon — I just booked it,” he advised The Associated Press.
Brandon mentioned he scrambled down the size of the alley, sliding into the pin space and climbing as much as cover within the equipment. He was amongst a busload of survivors who had been pushed to a center faculty within the neighboring metropolis of Auburn to be reunited with household and pals.
“I was putting on my bowling shoes when when it started. I’ve been barefoot for five hours,” he mentioned.
The bowling alley is home to conventional tenpin bowling in addition to candlepin, a variant of bowling present in New England. It’s situated about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) north of the Bates College campus, on the outskirts of downtown. The alley has a small bar and is well-liked for native bowling leagues and youngsters’s events.
Wednesday was “industry night” at Schemengees Bar and Grille, with 25% reductions provided to prospects who work within the bar or restaurant trade.
“In a split second your world gets turn upside down for no good reason,” the business posted on-line, saying “great people in this community” had been misplaced.
Melinda Small, the proprietor of the Legends Sports Bar and Grill, mentioned her employees instantly locked their doorways and moved all 25 prospects and staff away from the doorways after a buyer reported listening to concerning the taking pictures on the bowling alley lower than a quarter-mile away. Soon, the police flooded the roadway and a police officer ultimately escorted everybody out of the building.
“I am honestly in a state of shock. I am blessed that my team responded quickly and everyone is safe,” Small mentioned. “But at the same time, my heart is broken for this area and for what everyone is dealing with. I just feel numb.”
After the taking pictures, police, many armed with rifles, took up positions whereas town descended into eerie quiet — punctuated by occasional sirens — as folks hunkered down at home. Schools as distant as Kennebunk, greater than 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Lewiston, closed out of warning on Thursday. And faculties and public buildings had been closed in Portland, the state’s largest metropolis.
Many businesses determined to shut Thursday. Central Maine Healthcare mentioned it was closing all doctor places of work in Lewiston and 6 surrounding communities. All elective surgical procedure was canceled at Central Maine Medical Center.
The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office launched two photographs of the suspect on its Facebook web page that confirmed the shooter walking into an institution with a weapon raised to his shoulder.
Two regulation enforcement officers advised the AP that not less than 16 folks had been killed and the toll was anticipated to rise. However, Michael Sauschuck, commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, declined to supply a selected estimate at a information convention, calling it a “fluid situation.” State police deliberate to carry a midmorning information convention Thursday.
It’s the thirty sixth mass killing within the United States this 12 months, in accordance with a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
The two regulation enforcement officers mentioned dozens of individuals additionally had been wounded. The officers weren’t approved to publicly talk about particulars of the continuing investigation and spoke to AP on situation of anonymity.
On its web site, Central Maine Medical Center mentioned employees had been “reacting to a mass casualty, mass shooter event” and had been coordinating with space hospitals to soak up sufferers. The hospital was locked down and police, some armed with rifles, stood by the entrances.
Meanwhile, hospitals as distant as Portland, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) to the south, had been on alert to probably obtain victims.
Lewiston, the second largest metropolis in Maine with a inhabitants of 37,000, emerged as a significant middle for African immigration into Maine. The Somali inhabitants, which numbers within the hundreds, has modified the demographics of the as soon as overwhelmingly white mill metropolis into one of the vital numerous in northern New England.
A shelter-in-place advisory was issued Wednesday evening for Androscoggin County. That included the neighborhood of Lisbon, about 8 miles (13 kilometers) away, after a “vehicle of interest” was discovered there, authorities mentioned. It was prolonged Thursday to Bowdoin, which is in Sagadachoc County.
Gov. Janet Mills launched a press release echoing directions for folks to shelter. President Joe Biden spoke by telephone to Mills and the state’s Senate and House members, providing “full federal support in the wake of this horrific attack,” a White House assertion mentioned.
Wednesday’s demise toll was staggering for a state that in 2022 had 29 homicides the whole 12 months.
Author Stephen King responded to the shootings Thursday morning in a pair of posts on X, previously generally known as Twitter.
“The shootings occurred less than 50 miles from where I live. I went to high school in Lisbon. It’s the rapid-fire killing machines, people. This is madness in the name of freedom. Stop electing apologists for murder,” he wrote.
Maine doesn’t require permits to hold weapons, and the state has a longstanding tradition of gun possession that’s tied to its traditions of searching and sport taking pictures.
Some recent makes an attempt by gun management advocates to tighten the state’s gun legal guidelines have failed. Proposals to require background checks for personal gun gross sales and create a 72-hour ready interval for gun purchases failed earlier this 12 months. Proposals that centered on faculty safety and banning bump shares failed in 2019.
State residents have additionally voted down some makes an attempt to tighten gun legal guidelines in Maine. A proposal to require background checks for gun gross sales failed in a 2016 public vote.
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Associated Press journalists Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine, Michael Balsamo in New York, Darlene Superville in Washington, Michael Casey in Boston and Holly Ramer and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.
