(Reuters) – According to NBC News, at least 22 people were killed and 50 to 60 wounded in a series of mass shootings that occurred in several locations, including a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, Maine. A source from the Lewiston police identified a person of interest in the shootings, Robert Card, 40, and warned the public that he should be considered armed and dangerous. The police had previously released photographs of an unidentified suspect with a semi-automatic rifle and a white SUV, seeking help from the public in identifying them.
The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office also shared pictures of the suspect, displaying a bearded man in a brown hoodie jacket and jeans holding a rifle in a firing position. Maine state police issued an alert on social media, stating, “There is an active shooter in Lewiston. We ask people to shelter in place. Please stay inside your home with the doors locked. Law enforcement is currently investigating at multiple locations.”
The shootings reportedly took place at three separate businesses: the Sparetime Recreation bowling alley, Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant, and a Walmart distribution center, as reported by the Sun Journal, based on information from a Lewiston police spokesperson. These locations were not close to each other, with the bowling alley being about four miles north of the bar and the distribution center about a mile and a half south of the bar.
The Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston acknowledged the incident and stated that they were dealing with a mass casualty, mass shooter event. They were coordinating with other hospitals in the area to accommodate patients. Lewiston, a former textile hub with a population of 38,000 in Androscoggin County, is located around 35 miles north of Portland, Maine’s largest city.
Prior to the events, President Joe Biden had been briefed on the situation and would continue to receive updates, as confirmed by a U.S. official in Washington. The White House reported that President Biden had spoken individually to Maine Governor Janet Mills, Senators Angus King and Susan Collins, and Congressman Jared Golden regarding the shooting in Lewiston. He offered full federal support in response to the attack.
If the death toll of 22 is confirmed, this would be the deadliest massacre in the United States since at least August 2019 when 23 individuals were killed in a shooting that took place in an El Paso Walmart, labeled an anti-Hispanic hate crime. These numbers are also comparable to the annual homicide rates in Maine, which typically range between 16 and 29 according to the Maine State Police.
Data from the Gun Violence Archive indicates that the number of shootings in the U.S. involving four or more people being shot has increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. As of July, there were 647 such shootings in 2022, and this number is projected to rise to 679 in 2023.
The deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history remains the 2017 Las Vegas massacre, where 58 people were killed by a gunman firing from a high-rise hotel during a country music festival.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Additional reporting by Julia Harte, Steve Gorman, and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Sandra Maler, Ross Colvin, Lincoln Feast, and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
