According to CNN, there are at least two shootings that started around 7 p.m. local time (1 a.m. Belgian time) in the town of Lewiston in Maine, in the far northeast of the US. A gunman opened fire in a restaurant and in a bowling center. In addition, according to local media, a shooting took place in a Walmart distribution center.
According to the owner of the bowling alley, there were between 100 and 150 people present at the time of the shooting, including children. Witnesses report seeing many bodies lying lifeless on the ground after the shooting.
Police in Androscoggin County, the region in which Lewiston is located, speak of a male perpetrator and have released images of him showing him with a semi-automatic weapon in his hand. The man in the photo has been identified by police as 40-year-old David Card. He is considered by the authorities as a ‘person of interest’, (a person of interest, ed.) and seen as “armed and dangerous.”
According to law enforcement officials in Maine, Card is a certified weapons instructor and is a member of the U.S. Army Reserves.
Police have asked locals to stay at home, keep windows and doors closed and keep roads clear for emergency services. Shops, cafes and businesses in the area have been asked to close their businesses and go into lockdown. Hundreds of officers are currently hunting for the man.
Police also asked people to be on the lookout for a white vehicle with a possibly black-painted bumper that could be connected to the shootings. A vehicle that may be related to the shootings has now been found in the town of Lisbon, about 12 kilometers from Lewiston, where the shootings took place.
Mayor ‘heartbroken’
Lewiston is the second largest city in Maine with approximately 37,000 residents and is located in the southwest of that state. The city’s mayor, Carl Sheline, told CNN he was “heartbroken” by the events. “Lewiston is known for his strength and perseverance. We will need those qualities in the coming days.”
The White House reports that US President Biden has been informed of the shooting.
The last time a shooting in the US resulted in more than 20 deaths was in May 2022, when a man shot and killed 19 children and two teachers at a school in Uvalde, Texas.
