Maine Shooting News
Unraveling the Lewiston Tragedy: 18 Lives Lost in Maine Shooting Rampage. Join the Search for the Culprit! Shocking Details Inside
Gov. Janet Mills of Maine said Thursday morning that at least eighteen people had died in a mass shooting that happened in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday night. Another 13 people were hurt, at least.
Authorities indicated there was a suspect on the loose. At a press conference on Thursday morning, Maine Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck informed media that search efforts are underway to find 40-year-old Robert R. Card. He is regarded as dangerous and armed.
According to Sauschuck’s initial statement, the gunshots started just before 7 p.m. Shortly after 8 p.m., State Police announced that they were looking into “multiple locations.”
Card was thought to be stationed out of Saco, Maine, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve, according to a Maine law enforcement report obtained by CBS News.
A revised advisory stated that there is no longer any indication that Card was a trained weapons instructor, despite an earlier alert claiming that he was.
The alert states that he recently disclosed mental health concerns, including hearing voices.
The warning stated that he had also threatened to blow up the National Guard base in Saco and that he had spent two weeks this summer being admitted to a mental health facility.
Authorities shared images of the suspect and asked people to contact them “if you recognize this individual.”
The police chief in Lisbon, Maine, which is about seven miles southeast of Lewiston, asked the public to get in touch with the authorities if they observe anything strange on Thursday morning amidst an extensive hunt for the culprit.
“If something isn’t right, if you look out in your yard and you’re like, that door wasn’t open or, you know, that trailer wasn’t positioned that way, if you see anything suspicious, please call us because that’s how we’re going to be able to work together and be able to get to the bottom of this,” Chief Ryan McGee told the media.
Card has ties to Massachusetts, sources told CBS News Boston, and federal officials and Massachusetts State Police are stationed near the Maine border.
According to State authorities, a “vehicle of interest” was found by authorities in Lisbon.
Additionally, authorities released a picture of a white car and requested that anyone who recognized it get in touch with Lewiston police.
Although it matched the description of a car Card was known to have been driving from the law enforcement alert, it was not immediately obvious if this was the same vehicle that had been found in Lisbon.
Residents of Lewiston and Lisbon were advised to stay indoors by the State Police. On social media, they posted, “Please stay inside your home with the doors locked.”
Later, the shelter-in-place order was extended by the authorities to Card’s hometown of Bowdoin, Maine. “Please stay inside your homes while more than 100 investigators, both local and federal work to locate Robert Card,” they said.
Auburn, Maine, which borders Lewiston on the west, also issued a shelter-in-place advisory to its citizens. North of Portland, Lewiston is roughly 45 minutes away.
Due of the manhunt, many schools in the area are closed on Thursday, according to WGME-TV, a CBS Portland station. One of the locations where schools will be closed is Portland.
Sparetime Recreation, a bowling facility, and Schemengees Bar & Grille were the locations where Lewiston police reported they were called. It seems that the two companies are roughly ten minutes’ drive apart.
In a Facebook post, Schemengees’ owner wrote, “My heart is crushed.” I don’t know what to say. Your entire world abruptly turns upside down for no apparent reason.
In this community, great people pass away. How are we supposed to make sense of this? I’m praying for everyone right now.”
At the bowling alley, a man stated he heard roughly ten shots, mistaking the first for the popping of a balloon. “I was facing the door with my back to it. guy told The Associated Press, “And as soon as I turned and saw it was not a balloon — he was holding a weapon — I just booked it. He then hurried down the alley and into the machinery behind the pins.”
In a statement, the Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston stated that it was “responding to a mass casualty, mass shooter incident,” but it did not provide any additional information regarding the quantity of patients or the seriousness of their wounds.
In relation to the shootings, the Central Maine Medical Center was sending “one patient transport” to the Maine Medical Center in Portland.
“Alerted on-call staff and created critical care and operating room capacity in anticipation of potential patient transports,” the Portland hospital stated.
Since 2012, Maine has had 16 to 29 homicides annually, according to the Reuters news agency, which cited State Police.
CBS News was informed by a White House official that President Biden had received a briefing on “what’s known so far about the mass shooting in Lewiston.”
Mr. Biden “stepped out” of a state banquet honoring Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, a White House official told CBS News, “to make calls.” He discussed the Lewiston incident over the phone with Mills, Senators Angus King and Susan Collins, and Representative Jared Golden.
Following this horrifying attack, the president pledged full federal support.”
An FBI official informed CBS News that the agency is also responding.
Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, has also received a briefing.
“The entire Department of Homeland Security grieves with the loved ones of those killed and injured, and stands with the brave law enforcement officers and first responders who are currently working to secure and safeguard the people of Lewiston,” Mayorkas stated in a press release.
In a statement, Mills claimed to have been informed of the circumstances. “I urge all people in the area to follow the direction of State and local enforcement,” Mills stated. “I will continue to monitor the situation and remain in close contact with public safety officials.”
King expressed his “deep sadness for the city of Lewiston and all those worried about their family, friends, and neighbors” in a statement released by his office.
Collins posted on social media about having a conversation with Mr. Biden as well. “As our state mourns this horrific mass shooting, we appreciate the support we’ve received from across the country, including the call I received from President Biden offering assistance,” she stated in a letter.
