Maine shooting: Suspect identified as man shoots dead 22 people in bar | US News
At least 22 people have been killed and dozens of others injured after a gunman opened fire at a bar and bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine.
Residents of the city, as well as the nearby town of Lisbon, have been told to shelter in place.
Police named Robert Card, 40, as a person of interest and said he should be considered ‘armed and dangerous’.
The White House said President Joe Biden had been briefed on the situation and would continue to receive updates.
Police said investigators are still processing the crime scenes and working to gather evidence.
Card, is said to be a firearms instructor trained by the military and was recently committed to a mental health facility, according to a state police bulletin.
The 40-year-old had been trained as a firearms instructor at a US Army Reserve training facility in Maine.
He also had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks last summer, the bulletin claimed.
The card did not provide specific details about his treatment or condition.
It also said Card had reported hearing voices and had threatened to carry out a shooting at the military training base in Saco, Maine.
Lewiston Police confirmed in a Facebook post that Card was a person of interest in the shooting and said he should be considered armed and dangerous.
Billie Jayne Cooke, who is running for the city council in Lewiston, told BBC News she had been leaving an event as details of the shooting emerged.
‘The entire ride home was just solid sirens, one siren after another,’ she said.
‘Helicopters, sirens, I’ve never heard so much activity in my life in this city. We have police from all over the state, from out of the state, coming up.
‘The whole city’s on lockdown. It’s horrible. You just don’t think that’s ever going to happen and it did.’
Lewiston Police said in an earlier Facebook post that they were dealing with an active shooter incident at Schemengees Bar and Grille and Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley.
‘Please stay off the roads to allow emergency responders access to the hospitals,’ police said.
On its website, Central Maine Medical Centre said staff were ‘reacting to a mass casualty, mass shooter event’ and were coordinating with area hospitals to take in patients.
The alert for Lewiston was made shortly after 8pm local time as the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office reported that law enforcement agencies were investigating ‘two active shooter events’.
The sheriff’s office said the suspect was still at large.
‘We are encouraging all businesses to lock down and or close while we investigate,’ the sheriff’s office reported.
A spokesperson for Maine Department of Public Safety urged residents to stay in their homes with their doors locked.
‘Law enforcement is currently investigating at two locations right now,’ Shannon Moss said.
‘Again please stay off the streets and allow law enforcement to diffuse the situation.’
The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office released two photos of the suspect on its Facebook page that showed a gunman walking into an establishment with a weapon raised to his shoulder.
Governor Janet Mills released a statement echoing those instructions. She said she has been briefed on the situation and will remain in close contact with public safety officials.
President Joe Biden had spoken by phone to Ms Mills and the state’s Congress members, offering ‘full federal support in the wake of this horrific attack’, a White House statement said.
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