The US state of Maine on Wednesday witnessed a tragic gun violence incident that saw at least 22 people dead. Many others were injured as "hundreds of police officers" scrambled to track down "the person of interest."
While initial media reports peg the number of deceased at 22, authorities are yet to confirm it. Lewiston commissioner Michael Sauschuck said at a news conference that the situation was "very fluid". He added that he did not have firm numbers but that once he did, they would be released.
The Lewiston police released three shocking photographs of the 40-year-old "person of interest", identified as Robert Card, seeking public help to nail him. In the images, Card was seen holding what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle. Clad in a brown hoodie jacket and jeans, he was said to be driving a white SUV, which was later found in the town of Lisbon a short distance away.
The shootings reportedly unfolded at several locations, including a local bowling alley and a bar and grille restaurant, law enforcement officials told NBC News. Though a Walmart distribution centre was initially mentioned in the list, officials later said there was no such incident on the property. "There was no shooting on Walmart’s property," Walmart representative Joe Pennington said. "The distribution centre was locked down and police searched the facility. They did not find anything and no one was hurt. "
The Lewiston Police Department has issued a shelter-in-place order for the city. Residents are urged to stay inside with their doors locked. "We are encouraging all businesses to lock down and or close while we investigate, the sheriff's office reported. "Law enforcement is currently investigating at two locations right now. Again please stay off the streets and allow law enforcement to diffuse the situation," the alert read.
The FBI has sent aviation units to help in the search for the gunman.
Police respond to an active shooter situation in Lewiston, Maine | AFP
A nurse at Maine Medical told ABC News the shooting unfolded at a bowling alley during its youth night. "Maine Medical is on lockdown right now awaiting Lewiston patients," the nurse said. "They just called for [emergency department] nurses and critical care nurses to come in [and] set up three stretchers to each single critical care bay. They just got their first two patients -- both gunshot wounds to their thighs."
Who is Robert Card?
Card is reportedly a firearms instructor trained by the military and was recently committed to a mental health facility. According to the police intelligence bulletin, Card had been trained as firearms instructor at a U.S. Army Reserve training facility in Maine.
However, he was later committed to a mental health facility for two weeks in the summer of 2023 after reporting hearing voices. Card had also threatened to carry out a shooting at the military training base in Saco, Maine, reported The Associated Press.
Biden in touch with Governor
President Joe Biden has contacted Maine Governor Janet Mills and has been briefed on the situation, a U.S. official said in Washington. The President has offered full federal support in the wake of the attack, the White House said.
If the death toll of 22 is confirmed, the massacre would be the deadliest in the United States since at least August 2019, when a gunman opened fire on shoppers at an El Paso Walmart with an AK-47 rifle, killing 23 in a shooting that prosecutors branded an anti-Hispanic hate crime, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
