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LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — A person shot and killed no less than 16 individuals at a restaurant and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine, after which fled into the night time, sparking an enormous search by a whole bunch of officers whereas frightened residents in a number of communities stayed locked of their properties Thursday underneath a shelter-in-place advisory.
A police bulletin recognized Robert Card, 40, as an individual of curiosity within the assault that despatched panicked bowlers scrambling behind pins when pictures rang out round 7 p.m. Wednesday. Card was described as a firearms teacher believed to be within the Military Reserve and assigned to a coaching facility in Saco, Maine.
The doc, circulated to regulation enforcement officers, stated 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 stated Card had reported “listening to voices and threats to shoot up” the navy base. A phone quantity listed for Card in public information was not in service.
Lewiston Police stated in an earlier Fb 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. Quite a few dad and mom and kids had been at Sparetime as a part of a kids’s bowling league.
Ten-year-old Zoey Levesque, who was there together with her mom, advised WMTW-TV she was grazed by a bullet.
“It is scary,” she stated. “I had by no means thought I would develop up and get a bullet in my leg. And it is identical to, why? Why do individuals do that?”
One bowler, who recognized himself solely as Brandon, stated he heard about 10 pictures, pondering the primary was a balloon popping.
“I had my again turned to the door. And as quickly as I turned and noticed it was not a balloon — he was holding a weapon — I simply booked it,” he advised The Related Press.
Brandon stated he scrambled down the size of the alley, sliding into the pin space and climbing as much as disguise within the equipment. He was amongst a busload of survivors who had been pushed to a center college within the neighboring metropolis of Auburn to be reunited with household and pals.
“I used to be placing on my bowling footwear when when it began. I have been barefoot for 5 hours,” he stated.
The bowling alley is house to conventional tenpin bowling in addition to candlepin, a variant of bowling present in New England. It is situated about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) north of the Bates School campus, on the outskirts of downtown. The alley has a small bar and is in style for native bowling leagues and kids’s events.
Melinda Small, the proprietor of Legends Sports activities Bar and Grill, stated her employees instantly locked their doorways and moved all 25 prospects and workers away from the doorways after a buyer reported listening to concerning the taking pictures on the bowling alley lower than a quarter-mile away. Quickly, the police flooded the roadway and a police officer finally escorted everybody out of the constructing.
“I’m truthfully in a state of shock. I’m blessed that my group responded rapidly and everyone seems to be protected,” Small stated. “However on the identical time, my coronary heart is damaged for this space and for what everyone seems to be coping with. I simply really 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 individuals hunkered down at house. Faculties as far-off as Kennebunk, an hour from Lewiston, reported closing out of warning on Thursday.
The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Workplace launched two pictures of the suspect on its Fb web page that confirmed the shooter strolling into an institution with a weapon raised to his shoulder.
Two regulation enforcement officers advised The AP that no less than 16 individuals had been killed and the toll was anticipated to rise. Nevertheless, Michael Sauschuck, commissioner of the Maine Division of Public Security, declined to offer a particular estimate at a information convention, calling it a “fluid state of affairs.” State police deliberate to carry a midmorning information convention Thursday.
It is the thirty sixth mass killing in the USA this yr, in keeping with a database maintained by The Related Press and USA At this time in partnership with Northeastern College.
The 2 regulation enforcement officers stated dozens of individuals additionally had been wounded. The officers weren’t approved to publicly focus on particulars of the continued investigation and spoke to AP on situation of anonymity.
On its web site, Central Maine Medical Middle stated employees had been “reacting to a mass casualty, mass shooter occasion” and had been coordinating with space hospitals to absorb sufferers. The hospital was locked down and police, some armed with rifles, stood by the entrances.
In the meantime, hospitals as far-off as Portland, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) to the south, had been on alert to doubtlessly obtain victims.
Lewiston, the second largest metropolis in Maine with a inhabitants of 37,000, emerged as a serious 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 some of the various in northern New England.
A shelter-in-place advisory was issued Wednesday night time for Androscoggin County. That included the group of Lisbon, about 8 miles (13 kilometers) away, after a “car of curiosity” was discovered there, authorities stated. It was prolonged Thursday to Bowdoin, which is in Sagadachoc County.
Gov. Janet Mills launched a press release echoing directions for individuals to shelter. President Joe Biden spoke by telephone to Mills and the state’s Senate and Home members, providing “full federal assist within the wake of this horrific assault,” a White Home assertion stated.
Wednesday’s loss of life toll was staggering for a state that in 2022 had 29 homicides the whole yr.
Maine would not require permits to hold weapons, and the state has a longstanding tradition of gun possession that’s tied to its traditions of looking and sport taking pictures.
Some current 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 yr. Proposals that targeted on college 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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Related 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 Harmony, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.
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