The horror of another mass shooting shakes the United Statesthis time in the small town of Lewiston, Maine, in the northeast of the country. An armed man who at the time of writing these lines is still on the run has spread terror in a bar-restaurant and a bowling alley of this town of 39,000 inhabitants, leaving a trail of victims.
Although in a press conference at night the Commissioner of the state Department of Public Safety, Mike Sauschunk, did not want to give an official number of victims, media outlets such as CNN and NBC speak of at least 22 people dead and dozens injured.
The suspect
Its about mass shooting number 565 in the US in the 298 days this year according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. And Sauschunk has identified as “person of interest” to Robert Card, a man of 40 years, which is considered “armed and dangerous”.
In the image distributed by the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office, Card, a white man, is seen wearing a brown hooded sweatshirt and holding what appears to be a semi automatic rifle .
According to information from CNN, it is a former military and reserve, with tactical weapons training. Card’s motivations are not yet known. Also according to CNN, he had spent two weeks in a mental institution in Maine under evaluation and had complained of hearing voices. Recently, always according to the chain, he had lost his job at a recycling center.
The facts
The shooting occurred in Schemengees Bar & Grille and in the Sparetime Recreation bowling alley, one of whose owners, Justin Juray, has described in ‘The New York Times’ the scene as “total chaos”. Juray has also explained that at the time of the shooting at his premises there were between 100 and 150 people, including 20 children.
🇺🇲 | URGENT: Increase to 16 dead and 60 injured in shootings in Lewiston, Maine pic.twitter.com/vq2iEtLdFr
— World Alert (@AlertaMundial2) October 26, 2023
The Lewiston Police Department issued a notice shortly after 8 p.m. local time that there was a active shooting and an order urging city residents to take refuge in their homes while the search for the suspect, who has moved in a white vehicle, is underway. The order gave instructions to “stay inside with the doors closed.” and do not approach “unknown individuals.”
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Sauschuck later explained in the evening press conference that the vehicle has been located in lisbona town about 12 kilometers southeast of Lewiston, to which the order to shelter indoors has also been extended.
Biden
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, is being briefed on the shooting, according to the White House. He has abandoned the state dinner he was hosting in honor of Australia’s prime minister to hold talks with the governor, Janet Mills, and several state political leaders, to whom he has offered “full federal support.”