A man shot and killed at least 16 people at a restaurant and a bowling alley in Maine and then fled into the night, sparking a massive search by hundreds of officers while frightened residents stayed locked in their homes yesterday under a shelter-in-place advisory.
A police bulletin identified Robert Card, 40, as a person of interest in the attack in Lewiston that sent panicked bowlers scrambling behind bowling pins, into corners and a back room when shots rang out at about 7pm on Wednesday.
Card was described as a firearms instructor believed to be in the US Army Reserve and assigned to a training facility in Saco, Maine.
Photo: AFP
The document, circulated to law enforcement officials, said Card had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks this summer. It did not provide details about his treatment or condition, but said Card had reported “hearing voices and threats to shoot up” the military base. A telephone number listed for Card in public records was not in service.
Lewiston Police said in an earlier Facebook post that they were dealing with an active shooter incident at Schemengees Bar and Grille and at Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley about 6km away. A number of parents and children were at Sparetime as part of a children’s bowling league.
Legends Sports Bar and Grill owner Melinda Small said her staff immediately locked their doors and moved all 25 customers and employees away from the doors after a customer reported hearing about the shooting at the bowling alley less than half a kilometer away.
Soon, the police flooded the roadway and a police officer eventually escorted everyone 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 said. “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 shooting, police, many armed with rifles, took up positions while the city descended into eerie quiet — punctuated by occasional sirens — as people hunkered down at home. Schools as far away as Kennebunk, more than 80km from Lewiston, closed out of caution.
Schools and public buildings were also closed in Portland, the state’s largest city. Many businesses decided to close, too.
The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office released two photos of the suspect on its Facebook page that showed the shooter walking into an establishment with a weapon raised to his shoulder.
Two law enforcement officials said that at least 16 people were killed and the toll was expected to rise.
However, Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck declined to provide a specific estimate at a news conference, calling it a “fluid situation.”
It was the 36th mass killing in the US this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
The two law enforcement officials said dozens of people had also been wounded. The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
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