At least 16 feared dead in mass shootings in US city of Lewiston, Maine
Police in the US city of Lewiston, Maine have warned that a gunman is on the loose, with reports that at least 16 people have been killed .There were also multiple but unconfirmed reports of at least 50 people injured.
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.
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Maine State Police said: “There is an active shooter in Lewiston. “We ask people to shelter in place. Please stay inside your home with the doors locked.”
Lewiston Police said it had responded to two locations, a restaurant called Schemengees, and Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley. The two sites appear to be about four miles (6.5km), or a 10-minute drive, from each other.
Speaking to reporters, Michael Sauschuck, commissioner in Maine’s Department of Public Safety, said the shooting had begun at 18:56 local time (22:56 GMT) and that there had been “multiple casualties”.
The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office released two images of a suspect, saying he was at large and asking for the public’s help identifying him. They showed a bearded man in a brown sweater carrying a firearm walking into a building. The man identified as a person of interest is a firearms instructor who was trained by the US military at a facility in the city of Saco, Maine, according to a state police bulletin seen by the Associated Press. The bulletin also said he had spent time in a mental health centre in the summer of 2023 and had threatened to commit a shooting at the base.
Police also shared a photo of a white vehicle, saying its front bumper was believed to be painted black, and asked anybody who recognised it to contact police.
Lewiston Public Schools Superintendent Jake Langlais said in a statement that schools in the district would be closed on Thursday.
Lewiston has a population of around 38,000 people and is the second-largest city in Maine after Portland.
(BBC)
