Shooting in Maine: 18 dead, perpetrator armed and dangerous

Maine Governor Janet Mills announced this on Thursday in Lewiston. 13 people were injured. The shooter is on the run. He was “armed and dangerous.” A major manhunt is underway. The public has been urged to be cautious.

“We have literally hundreds of police officers on duty,” said a police spokesman. Investigators are looking for the 40-year-old man. According to the media, he can be seen in photos from surveillance cameras with an assault rifle. Roadblocks were set up and helicopters were requested.

Lewiston has a population of just under 40,000 and is located in the state of Maine, about 200 kilometers north of Boston on the east coast of the USA. The place is otherwise very peaceful, and Maine has rarely been confronted with serious cases of gun violence compared to other US states, the reports said.

Perpetrator a firearms instructor

The man is said to be a military-trained firearms instructor who was receiving psychiatric treatment over the summer. The police published photos on Facebook showing the bearded man in a brown hoodie and jeans at one of the crime scenes. In the pictures he appears to be holding a semi-automatic weapon. According to several media outlets, a Maine law enforcement report on the suspect states that he recently self-described his mental health issues. He is also said to have threatened to attack a National Guard base. In the summer he is said to have been released from a psychiatric hospital after two weeks. The Reuters news agency was unable to verify the accuracy of this information. The US military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

So far nothing is known about possible motives. The population was asked not to leave their houses. Schools should also remain closed on Thursday.

In the USA, rampages and fatal shootings are sadly part of everyday life. Firearms are easily available there and are widely circulated. Bloody attacks – for example at schools, in supermarkets, nightclubs or at large events – regularly shock the country with many victims. This regularly leads to discussions about tightening gun laws, but so far without success.

The first emergency calls were received at 6:56 p.m. local time, the police said. The shooter opened fire in a leisure center with bowling alleys and in a barbecue restaurant. A witness told ABC that her 11-year-old daughter was bowling when the first shots were fired. “I lay over her to protect her,” she said. About ten kilometers from Lewiston, the police found the car they were looking for, a small white SUV.

Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline was shocked. “I am heartbroken for our city and our people,” he wrote in a statement. The place is known for its strength and courage. “We will need both in the coming days,” he added.

The mayor of the neighboring city of Auburn, Jason Levesque, also expressed his dismay. Fear, panic and worry had spread among residents, he told reporters. “You can train for something like this, but you can never be fully prepared,” he added. Auburn is about 1.5 kilometers from Lewiston.

“It’s just so unreal,” Councilman McCarthy said. “You see it on the news and you tell yourself it’s never going to happen here. And then it happens here, and it just blows your mind.”

US President Joe Biden pledged full support to the state of Maine. The White House said Biden spoke by phone with Maine Governor Janet Mills, Senators Angus King and Susan Collins and Congressman Jared Golden. Governor Mills appealed to residents via Network X (formerly known as Twitter): “I urge all people in the area to follow the instructions of state and local security forces.”

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