Catherine Herridge reports on the Israeli military expanding operations in Gaza, the manhunt for a shooting suspect in Maine, and U.S. airstrikes on Syria.
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The suspect in the mass shootings that killed 18 people in Lewiston, Maine, 40-year-old Robert Card, has been found dead, the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Friday.
The body of the suspect was found by law enforcement near a recycling plant in the Lisbon area, multiple law enforcement sources confirmed to CBS News. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Mike Sauschuck, commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, said in a news conference Friday night.
Sauchuck said the body was located at about 7:45 p.m. local time near the Androscoggin River in Lisbon, a town about 8 miles southwest of Lewiston. The suspect’s vehicle, a white Subaru Outback, had earlier been found abandoned by a boat launch on the river.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills told reporters that she called President Biden to inform him of the suspect’s death.
“Like many people, I’m breathing a sigh of relief that Robert Card is no longer a threat to anyone,” Mills said.
Senator Susan Collins issued a statement thanking “the brave first responders who worked night and day to find this killer.”
Hundreds of state and local police and federal agents had been involved in the manhunt since the shootings Wednesday night.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement late Friday night that “although we are grateful that the suspect in this case no longer poses a threat, we know that nothing can bring back the lives he stole or undo the terror he inflicted.”
For several hours Thursday night, heavily armed police had surrounded a house in Bowdoin, a small town where the suspect was from, about 35 minutes from Lewiston, but they completed their search there without finding him.
On Friday, police announced divers were conducting underwater searches near the location where his vehicle was found abandoned.
Authorities had recovered a weapon from the suspect’s abandoned vehicle, law enforcement sources told CBS News’ Pat Milton and Robert Legare earlier Friday. The firearm was legally purchased, a law enforcement source confirmed. It wasn’t clear if the recovered weapon was used in the shooting.
CBS News had also learned that investigators had located the suspect’s cellphone and were trying to crack it and pore over his online activity, including text messages and emails, hoping to find clues as to his motive in the shootings.
The deadly rampage began a little before 7 p.m. Wednesday night when police received a 911 call about a shooting at Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley in Lewiston. Police later said six men and one woman there died of apparent gunshot wounds.
Just over 10 minutes later, at 7:08 p.m., police were called to the scene of another shooting a few miles away, at Schemengees Bar and Grille. Eight people there were killed, police said. Three other people died at area hospitals.
Police said the gunman fled in the aftermath of the shootings and they warned that he “should be considered armed and dangerous.”
The suspect, a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, had recently reported experiencing mental health issues, including hearing voices, and threatened to shoot up a military base in Saco, a law enforcement bulletin seen by CBS News said. In July, he started “behaving erratically,” a New York Army National Guard spokesperson told CBS News, and he was committed to a mental health facility for two weeks.
Several communities in the area spent the days since the shooting under shelter-in-place warnings, with schools canceled and residents urged to stay indoors. The shelter-in-place orders were lifted earlier Friday.
“For me it was incomprehensible that this can happen in Lewiston, Maine,” Mayor Carl Sheline told CBS News Boston.
“Our city is facing this incredible loss and I am completely broken for our city, and my heart really goes out to the victims and their families right now,” Sheline said.
Investigators were looking into whether the suspect may have been targeting a specific individual, who is believed to be a current or former girlfriend, two U.S. officials and a former high-ranking official told CBS News. It wasn’t clear if she was at either of the two locations that were attacked.
The victims of the mass shooting ranged in age from 14 to 76, the medical examiner said. They included a bar manager who tried to stop the gunman; a bowling instructor who was teaching kids; a beloved father; a 14-year-old and his dad; and several people taking part in a cornhole tournament for deaf athletes.
— Julia Kimani,Jeff Pegues, Andres Triay, Robert Legare and Matthew Mosk contributed to this report.
An assault-style firearm was found in the abandoned vehicle belonging to the suspect in the Lewiston, Maine, mass shooting, CBS News has learned. The firearm had been legally purchased. The suspect’s cell phone has also been found, and investigators hope it could shed details on the motive into the killings. Jeff Pegues has details.
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The Coast Guard is now involved in the search for the man suspected of committing two mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, after the suspect’s vehicle was found abandoned near a boat launch near the Androscoggin River. Helicopters and divers were canvassing the river for the 40-year-old Army reservist. Jericka Duncan reports.
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Mike Sauschuck, the commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, said in a Friday news conference that the divers would be “checking for evidence” and possible “potential bodies” after 18 people were killed and 13 injured on Wednesday night.
“There will be a lot of activity in the water today,” Sauschuck said. “… The river is a big piece of this.”
Card’s car, a white Subaru Outback, was found near a boat launch on the Androscoggin River. He is now believed to be in a 15-foot lake boat. According to a law enforcement bulletin reviewed by CBS News, Card also has a 2019 Sea Doo green boat registered in his name. It’s not clear whether that’s the same vessel as the lake boat.
The Androscoggin River connects to the Kennebec River. Both rivers are more than 170 miles long and empty into the Gulf of Maine. Some of the gulf’s shoreline is in Canada.
Sauschuck said that there would be air flyovers to help determine where divers should enter the river. Where they go into the water will depend on currents, visibility and other factors, Sauschuck said. Sonar technology will also be used in the search. Sauschuck also said that the Brookfield Power Company, which operates two dams on the river, will try to lower the current to make it easier for divers to navigate the waterway.
The Maine State Police dive team will lead the charge, and officers from the agency will work the shore line along the river.
Card remains missing after carrying out a mass shooting on Wednesday at two locations in Lewiston, Maine. Eighteen people were killed, and 13 others were injured. Card has been missing ever since.
The manhunt continued Friday for the suspect in the mass shootings that killed 18 people and injured 13 in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday night.
Authorities are searching for 40-year-old Robert Card, Maine Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck told reporters during a news conference Thursday. Police said he should be considered armed and dangerous.
Hundreds of police and about 80 FBI agents, as well as federal marshals and people from other agencies, are involved in the search.
Residents of local communities remained under shelter-in-place advisories.
Details about many of the shooting victims were being revealed as the search for Card intensified.
Heavily armed law enforcement officers were seen surrounding a house in the nearby town of Bowdoin, where Card is from, Thursday night.
“Law enforcement is at a home in Bowdoin as part of the investigation into the Lewiston shootings and the search for Robert Card,” the Maine Department of Public Safety confirmed. But officers completed their search and cleared the scene without finding the suspect.
Law enforcement officials gather in the road in Bowdoin, Maine, leading to the home of a suspect being sought in connection with two mass shootings in nearby Lewiston, Oct. 26, 2023.
Getty Images
The deadly rampage began a little before 7 p.m. Wednesday evening at Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley in Lewiston, where seven people were killed; six males and one female died of apparent gunshot wounds, state police Col. William Ross said during the news conference.
At the second shooting scene, Schemengees Bar and Grille, about 4 miles away, seven males inside the establishment and one outside were killed, Ross said. Three other people died at an area hospital.
“For me it was incomprehensible that this can happen in Lewiston, Maine,” Mayor Carl Sheline told CBS News Boston.
“Our city is facing this incredible loss and I am completely broken for our city, and my heart really goes out to the victims and their families right now,” Sheline said.
Investigators are looking into whether the suspect was targeting a specific individual, who is believed to be a current or former girlfriend, two U.S. officials and a former high-ranking official told CBS News. It wasn’t clear if the individual was at either of the two locations that were attacked.
Police received a 911 call about the bowling alley shooting at about 6:56 p.m. EDT, Ross said. Just over 10 minutes later, at about 7:08 p.m., police received multiple calls about the second shooting. Police from Lewiston and the surrounding area responded to the shootings.
The weapon used in the shootings was a semi-automatic rifle with an extended magazine and scope, CBS News senior investigative producer Pat Milton reported.
The fatalities
Arthur Strout, a 42-year-old father of three, was at Schemengees playing pool with his father, Arthur Barnard, who told CBS News he left the bar before the shooting that claimed his son’s life. Strout was described by his family as “a great dad.”
Those who knew 76-year-old Bob Violette told CBS News Boston he was gunned down doing what he loved: bowling. Violette was teaching at a youth bowling league inside Sparetime Recreation, a friend said, when the gunfire erupted.
Michael Deslauriers II was bowling with family and friends at Sparetime at the time of the shootings. Michael’s father confirmed to CBS News Boston that he is one of the deceased. Deslauriers Sr. said his son and a friend made sure their wives and several children were safe before charging at the shooter. He said both men were killed.
Joseph Walker was a bar manager at Schemengees and was working when the shooting began. His father confirmed his death to CBS News. Auburn City Councilor Leroy Walker told CBS New Boston Joseph Walker was killed as he went after the gunman with a butcher knife.
Karen Hopkins, executive director of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf in Falmouth, Maine, said on Facebook that, “We lost four of our cherished community members in (the) Lewiston shootings. Including two fathers of children in our programs.” She said the four were Joshua Seal, Billy Brackett, Steve Vozzella and Bryan MacFarlane. CBS Portland, Maine affiliate WGME-TV says Seal was “a familiar face during the pandemic as an interpreter for the Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention.
The schools superintendent in Winthrop, Maine, Jim Hodgkin, said in a letter to parents that a freshman at the high school, his father and an uncle of another high school student were killed in Lewiston.
General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Peyton Brewer-Ross, a member of the company’s pipe shop test crew, was slain in the shootings. The company said he was “a valuable part of our team” and “will be sorely missed.”
Suspect’s military and mental health history
The suspect, a sergeant first class in the U.S. Army Reserve, is a petroleum supply specialist, according to the Army. He enlisted in the Reserve in 2002 and doesn’t have any combat deployments. He is assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiment in Saco, Maine, U.S. Army spokesperson Bryce Dubee told CBS News.
A Maine law enforcement bulletin seen by CBS News had said the suspect was a trained firearms instructor, but an updated bulletin said there’s no indication that he was an instructor.
He recently reported mental health issues, including hearing voices, according to the bulletin. He had also threatened to shoot up the National Guard base in Saco, the bulletin said, and he was reported to have been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks this summer.
In July, while training at the U.S. Military Academy in New York, leaders of the suspect’s unit told garrison staff that he was “behaving erratically,” a New York Army National Guard spokesperson told CBS News.
The New York State Police was contacted and took the suspect to an Army hospital at West Point to be evaluated, the spokesperson told CBS News. When asked about the incident, the state police told CBS News it was an active investigation and declined to comment.
Dubee, the Army spokesperson, told CBS News there aren’t any records to indicate the suspect participated in the West Point training. A U.S. official said this is because almost within the first day, he started acting erratically.
Authorities shared images of the suspect and asked people to contact them “if you recognize this individual.”
Law enforcement officials released a photo of a man with a semiautomatic rifle they were calling a suspect in a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, on Oct. 25, 2023.
Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office via REUTERS
On Thursday morning, amid a massive search for the suspect, the police chief for Lisbon, Maine, some 7 miles southeast of Lewiston, urged people to contact authorities if they see anything suspicious.
“If something isn’t right, if you look out in your yard and you’re like, that door wasn’t open or, you know, that trailer wasn’t positioned that way, if you see anything suspicious, please call us because that’s how we’re going to be able to work together and be able to get to the bottom of this,” Chief Ryan McGee told reporters.
The suspect has connections to Massachusetts, according to CBS News Boston sources, and Massachusetts State Police and federal agents are staged at the Maine border. Canada’s Border Services Agency issued an “armed and dangerous” alert to its officers along the U.S.-Canada border, according to the Canadian Press.
According to the Maine law enforcement bulletin, a white Subaru Outback registered to the suspect was found. Maine State Police said earlier the “vehicle of interest” was recovered by police in Lisbon.
The vehicle was found near a boat launch near the Androscoggin River, which flows into the Kennebec River, CBS News’ Milton reported.
The U.S. Coast Guard is searching waterways for the suspect’s boat with a response vessel from Boothbay Harbor, Maine, and a fixed-wing aircraft from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Milton and CBS News’ Robert Legare reported.
Two other vehicles were registered to the suspect in Maine: a 2022 Yamaha motorcycle and a 2019 Sea-Doo green boat, according to the bulletin.
Police in Lewiston, Maine, have released a photo of this car wanted in connection with an active shooting situation on Oct. 25, 2023.
Lewiston Police Department
State police urged residents of Lewiston and Lisbon to shelter in place. “Please stay inside your home with the doors locked,” they wrote on social media.
Authorities later expanded the shelter-in-place advisory to Bowdoin. “Please stay inside your homes while more than 100 investigators, both local and federal work to locate Robert Card,” they said.
The city of Auburn, Maine, which borders Lewiston to the west, also advised residents to shelter in place. Lewiston is about 45 minutes north of Portland.
Numerous schools in the region closed Thursday due to the manhunt, WGME reported. Portland is among the places where schools were shut.
Heavily armed police stand at the ambulance entrance to the Central Maine Medical Center on Oct. 26, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine, where many of the shooting victims were brought.
John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
“My heart is crushed”
An owner of Schemengees said in a Facebook post: “My heart is crushed. I am at a loss for words. In a split second your world gets turn upside down for no good reason. We loss great people in this community. How can we make any sense of this. Sending out prayers to everyone.”
One man at the bowling alley said he heard about 10 shots and thought the first was a balloon popping. “I had my back turned to the door. And as soon as I turned and saw it was not a balloon — he was holding a weapon — I just booked it,” he told The Associated Press, adding that he then hurried down the length of the alley and hid in the machinery behind the pins.
At Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, three patients from the shooting died, according to Dr. John Alexander, chief medical officer of Central Maine Healthcare. Three other patients were in critical condition, while five more were in stable condition and two additional patients were transferred to other hospitals.
Maine has had between 16 to 29 homicides each year since 2012, according to the Reuters news service, citing state police.
A police officer walks along a rural road during a manhunt for the suspect of Wednesday’s mass shootings, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lisbon, Maine.
Robert F. Bukaty / AP
President Biden was initially briefed on the shooting during Wednesday night’s state dinner honoring Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday afternoon. Mr. Biden also spoke with Maine Governor Janet Mills; the state’s senators, Susan Collins and Angus King; and one of its members of Congress, Jared Golden.
“He pledged full federal support in the wake of this horrific tragedy,” Jean-Pierre said, adding that the president received another briefing Thursday morning.
Mr. Biden called the shooting a tragedy and urged Republicans in Congress to work with his administration to pass gun control measures including an assault weapons ban and a ban on high capacity magazines.
“For countless Americans who have survived gun violence and been traumatized by it, a shooting such as this reopens deep and painful wounds,” the president said in a statement. “Far too many Americans have now had a family member killed or injured as a result of gun violence. That is not normal, and we cannot accept it.”
The FBI is also responding to the shooting, an agency official told CBS News.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has also been briefed.
“The entire Department of Homeland Security grieves with the loved ones of those killed and injured, and stands with the brave law enforcement officers and first responders who are currently working to secure and safeguard the people of Lewiston,” Mayorkas said in a statement.
Mills released a statement saying she was briefed on the situation. “I urge all people in the area to follow the direction of State and local enforcement,” Mills said. “I will continue to monitor the situation and remain in close contact with public safety officials.”
King’s office said in a statement that he was “deeply sad for the city of Lewiston and all those worried about their family, friends and neighbors.”
Collins noted on social media that she had also spoken with Mr. Biden. “As our state mourns this horrific mass shooting, we appreciate the support we’ve received from across the country, including the call I received from President Biden offering assistance,” she wrote.
“I have opposed efforts to ban deadly weapons of war, like the assault rifle used to carry out this crime,” Golden said at a news conference. “The time has now come for me to take responsibility for this failure, which is why I now call on the United States Congress to ban assault rifles like the one used by the sick perpetrator of this mass killing in my hometown of Lewiston, Maine.”
-Evan Coan and Eleanor Watson contributed reporting. The Associated Press contributed reporting.
Lewiston, Maine — Arthur Strout, a 42-year-old father of three, was at Schemengees Bar and Grill in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday evening, playing pool with his father, Arthur Barnard.
Barnard told CBS News he left the bar prior to the shooting that claimed his son’s life. Barnard said Strout had initially planned to leave with him but decided to stay at the bar.
“[Arthur] was supposed to leave with me because he didn’t bring his car,” Bernard said, describing his son as someone who “could always laugh at something no matter how bad it was.”
Many people in the quiet city of Lewiston — with a population of about 38,000 — woke up Thursday morning to the news that someone they knew had been killed in Wednesday night’s mass shootings, which left at least 18 people dead and 13 injured.
The gunman opened fire at two locations: Schemengees, and Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley about four miles away.
Maine State Police Col. William Ross said Thursday that seven people were fatally shot inside Schemengees, and another was killed outside the bar.
“I said, ‘OK,’ and he said ‘I love you,’ because all my kids tell me that every time we see each other,” Barnard said of his words to Strout as he left the bar. “Ten minutes later, I get a phone call.”
Kristy Strout, Arthur’s wife, said the two had been married for almost seven years.
“He’s helped me raise my children since they were very, very little,” Strout’s wife, Kristy Strout, said. “His daughter’s only 13 and without a dad because of all of this. Because of one man’s choices, my daughter has to grow up without a father.”
“He tried to be tough with his kids, but at the same time he was just, he was a great dad,” Barnard said. “I just was proud of him.”
The suspect in the shooting, identified as 40-year-old Robert Card, remained at large as of Thursday evening.
“I hope they catch this person,” Kristy said. “I’m angry my husband is dead and he’s running free.”
Lewiston, a former mill town that is now home to colleges and health care systems, now joins the list of American cities forever linked by the tragedy of a mass shooting. Jericka Duncan has more.
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Many people in the quiet city of Lewiston woke up Thursday morning to the news that someone they knew had been killed in Wednesday night’s mass shootings. Elaine Quijano has more.
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CBS News has learned that investigators are looking into whether the 40-year-old suspect in Wednesday’s mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, was targeting his current or former girlfriend. Jeff Pegues has more.
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Authorities are actively searching for a 40-year-old Army reservist suspected in the mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday night which left at least 18 people dead and 13 wounded. Jericka Duncan has the latest.
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A Coast Guard official told CBS News that it has deployed resources to help search for Robert Card, the suspect in a mass shooting that left 18 people in Lewiston, Maine, dead late last night.
Card has been charged with eight counts of murder, officials said this morning. He’s expected to be charged with further counts as the victims of the shooting are identified. On Wednesday night, police said they were searching for a “vehicle of interest,” a white Subaru Outback that was registered to Card.
A law enforcement source told CBS News that the vehicle was found near a boat launch. Bowdoin College, an area college that is closed today amid shelter-in-place advisories, said in an emergency bulletin that the vehicle was “abandoned” by a boat dock.
The Coast Guard is now using a response vessel dispatched from Boothbay Harbor, Maine, and a fixed-wing aircraft from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to search the waterways for Card, who is believed to be in a 15-foot lake boat. The search is focused on the northern shore of the waterway.
According to a Maine law enforcement bulletin seen by CBS News, Card has a 2022 Yamaha motorcycle and a 2019 Sea-Doo green boat registered in his name, in addition to the white Subaru. It’s not clear if the Sea-Doo boat is the same boat that Card is believed to be in.
Card’s car was found near the Androscoggin River, which flows into the Kennebec River. Both rivers are more than 170 miles long and empty into the Gulf of Maine. Some of the gulf’s shoreline is in Canada. Canada’s Border Services Agency issued an “armed and dangerous” alert to its officers along the U.S.-Canada border on Thursday, according to the Canadian Press.
Card is enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve, where he has served as a petroleum supply specialist since 2002, and has an active military ID, which gives him access to any military base, according to the law enforcement bulletin.
Card recently reported experiencing mental health issues, including hearing voices, and threatened to shoot up a military base in Saco, Maine, according to the law enforcement bulletin. Over the summer, he was committed to a mental health facility for two weeks, the bulletin said. Leaders of the U.S. Army Reserve’s 3rd battalion told garrison staff that Card was “behaving erratically” in mid-July, according to a statement from a spokesperson for the New York Army National Guard.
“Out of concern for his safety, the unit requested that law enforcement be contacted,” the spokesperson said in the statement. “New York State Police responded and transported Card to Keller Army Community Hospital at the United States Military Academy for medical evaluation.”
A widespread manhunt is underway in Maine after a gunman opened fire in two separate locations in Lewiston, killing at least 16 people and injuring dozens of others. Elaine Quijano has the latest.
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As a man opened fire at a restaurant and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine, one survivor of the deadly rampage says he raced down a bowling lane and hid within the machinery behind the pins to escape the gunman.
Harrowing stories began to emerge early Thursday as police searched for a person of interest, identified as 40-year-old Robert Card, after the rampage at Schemengees Bar and Grille and at Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley about 4 miles away. At least 20 people were killed in the shootings Wednesday night, law enforcement officials told CBS News, but the exact toll was not yet known.
One bowler, who identified himself only as Brandon, said he heard about 10 shots, thinking the first was a balloon popping.
“I had my back turned to the door. And as soon as I turned and saw it was not a balloon – he was holding a weapon – I just booked it,” he told The Associated Press.
Brandon said he scrambled down the length of the alley, sliding into the pin area and climbing up to hide in the machinery. He was among a busload of survivors who were driven to a middle school in the neighboring city of Auburn to be reunited with family and friends.
“I was putting on my bowling shoes when it started. I’ve been barefoot for five hours,” he said.
People depart a reunification center early Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, at Auburn Middle School in Auburn, Maine, following shootings at a bar and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine.
Steven Senne / AP
Melinda Small, the owner of Legends Sports Bar and Grill, said her staff immediately locked their doors and moved all 25 customers and employees away from the doors after a customer reported hearing about the shooting at the bowling alley less than a quarter-mile away. Soon, the police flooded the roadway and a police officer eventually escorted everyone out of the building.
“I am honestly in a state of shock. I am blessed that my team responded quickly and everyone is safe,” Small said. “But at the same time, my heart is broken for this area and for what everyone is dealing with. I just feel numb.”
A police bulletin identified Card as a person of interest in the attack that sent panicked bowlers scrambling behind pins when shots rang out around 7 p.m. According to a Maine law enforcement bulletin seen by CBS News, Card is a trained firearms instructor believed to be in the Army reserve stationed out of Saco, Maine.
The document, circulated to law enforcement officials, said Card had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks in the summer of 2023. It did not provide details about his treatment or condition but said Card had reported “hearing voices and threats to shoot up” the military base. A telephone number listed for Card in public records was not in service.
After the shooting, police, many armed with rifles, took up positions while the city descended into eerie quiet — punctuated by occasional sirens — as people hunkered down at home. Schools were closed Thursday in Lewiston, Lisbon and Auburn, as well as municipal offices in Lewiston.
Law enforcement officials released a photo of a man with a semiautomatic rifle suspected in a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023.
Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office via REUTERS
On its website, Central Maine Medical Center said staff were “reacting to a mass casualty, mass shooter event” and were coordinating with area hospitals to take in patients. The hospital was locked down and police, some armed with rifles, stood by the entrances.
Meanwhile, hospitals as far away as Portland, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) to the south, were on alert to potentially receive victims.
An order for residents and business owners to stay inside and off the streets of the city of 37,000 was extended Wednesday night from Lewiston to Lisbon, about 8 miles away, after a “vehicle of interest” was found there, authorities said.
Gov. Janet Mills released a statement echoing instructions for people to shelter. She said she had been briefed on the situation and will remain in close contact with public safety officials.
President Joe Biden spoke by phone to Mills and the state’s Senate and House members, offering “full federal support in the wake of this horrific attack,” a White House statement said.
Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent, said he was “deeply sad for the city of Lewiston and all those worried about their family, friends and neighbors” and was monitoring the situation. King’s office said the senator would be headed directly home to Maine on the first flight possible.
A man shot and killed at least 16 people at a restaurant and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday and then fled into the night, sparking a massive search by hundreds of officers while frightened residents stayed locked in their homes.
A police bulletin identified Robert Card, 40, as a person of interest in the attack that sent panicked bowlers scrambling behind pins when shots rang out around 7 p.m. Card was described as a firearms instructor believed to be in the Army Reserve and assigned to a training facility in Saco, Maine.
The document, circulated to law enforcement officials, said Card had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks in the summer of 2023. It did not provide details about his treatment or condition but said Card had reported “hearing voices and threats to shoot up” the military base. A telephone number listed for Card in public records was not in service.
Lewiston Police said in an earlier Facebook post that they were dealing with an active shooter incident at Schemengees Bar and Grille and at Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) away.
One bowler, who identified himself only as Brandon, said he heard about 10 shots, thinking the first was a balloon popping.
“I had my back turned to the door. And as soon as I turned and saw it was not a balloon — he was holding a weapon — I just booked it,” he told The Associated Press.
Brandon said he scrambled down the length of the alley, sliding into the pin area and climbing up to hide in the machinery. He was among a busload of survivors who were driven to a middle school in the neighboring city of Auburn to be reunited with family and friends.
“I was putting on my bowling shoes when when it started. I’ve been barefoot for five hours,” he said.
Melinda Small, the owner of Legends Sports Bar and Grill, said her staff immediately locked their doors and moved all 25 customers and employees away from the doors after a customer reported hearing about the shooting at the bowling alley less than a quarter-mile away. Soon, the police flooded the roadway and a police officer eventually escorted everyone out of the building.
“I am honestly in a state of shock. I am blessed that my team responded quickly and everyone is safe,” Small said. “But at the same time, my heart is broken for this area and for what everyone is dealing with. I just feel numb.”
After the shooting, police, many armed with rifles, took up positions while the city descended into eerie quiet — punctuated by occasional sirens — as people hunkered down at home. Schools were closed Thursday in Lewiston, Lisbon and Auburn, as well as municipal offices in Lewiston.
The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office released two photos of the suspect on its Facebook page that showed the shooter walking into an establishment with a weapon raised to his shoulder.
Two law enforcement officials told The AP that at least 16 people were killed and the toll was expected to rise. However, Michael Sauschuck, commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, declined to provide a specific estimate at a news conference, calling it a “fluid situation.” State police planned to hold a mid-morning news conference Thursday.
The two law enforcement officials said dozens of people also had been wounded. The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
On its website, Central Maine Medical Center said staff were “reacting to a mass casualty, mass shooter event” and were coordinating with area hospitals to take in patients. The hospital was locked down and police, some armed with rifles, stood by the entrances.
Meanwhile, hospitals as far away as Portland, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) to the south, were on alert to potentially receive victims.
An order for residents and business owners to stay inside and off the streets of the city of 37,000 was extended Wednesday night from Lewiston to Lisbon, about 8 miles (13 kilometers) away, after a “vehicle of interest” was found there, authorities said.
Gov. Janet Mills released a statement echoing instructions for people to shelter. She said she had been briefed on the situation and will remain in close contact with public safety officials.
President Joe Biden spoke by phone to Mills and the state’s Senate and House members, offering “full federal support in the wake of this horrific attack,” a White House statement said.
Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent, said he was “deeply sad for the city of Lewiston and all those worried about their family, friends and neighbors” and was monitoring the situation. King’s office said the senator would be headed directly home to Maine on the first flight possible.
Local schools will be closed Thursday and people should shelter in place or seek safety, Superintendent Jake Langlais said, adding: “Stay close to your loved ones. Embrace them.”
Wednesday’s death toll was staggering for a state that in 2022 had 29 homicides the entire year.
Maine doesn’t require permits to carry guns, and the state has a longstanding culture of gun ownership that is tied to its traditions of hunting and sport shooting.
Some recent attempts by gun control advocates to tighten the state’s gun laws have failed. Proposals to require background checks for private gun sales and create a 72-hour waiting period for gun purchases failed earlier this year. Proposals that focused on school security and banning bump stocks failed in 2019.
State residents have also voted down some attempts to tighten gun laws in Maine. A proposal to require background checks for gun sales failed in a 2016 public vote.
At least 16 people were killed in a shooting in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday night, multiple law enforcement officials told CBS News, but they indicated the death toll could be higher than 20.
Multiple sources said at least 50 people were injured, but it was unclear how many had been shot.
Police said they were investigating “multiple locations” and were asking people to shelter in place.
“Please stay inside your home with the doors locked,” Maine State police wrote on social media.
Lewiston police said it responded to two locations, a restaurant called Schemengees, and Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley. The two locations appear to be about a 10-minute drive from each other.
A suspect was still at large, the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook. Police also shared images of the suspect and asked people to contact them “if you recognize this individual.”
Police also shared a photo of a white vehicle and asked anybody who recognized it to contact Lewiston police.
Please contact the Lewiston Police at 513-3001 ext.. 3327 if you recognize this vehicle. It is believed that the front bumper may be painted black.
The Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston said in a statement that it was “reacting to a mass casualty, mass shooter event,” but did not have further details on the number of patients or severity of their injuries.
The city of Auburn, Maine, which borders Lewiston to the west, advised residents of both Auburn and Lewiston to shelter in place. Lewiston is located about 45 minutes north of Portland.
A White House official confirmed to CBS News that President Biden had been briefed on “what’s known so far about the mass shooting in Lewiston.”
The FBI is also responding, an agency official told CBS News.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills released a statement saying she was briefed on the situation. “I urge all people in the area to follow the direction of State and local enforcement,” Mills said. “I will continue to monitor the situation and remain in close contact with public safety officials.”
The office of Maine Sen. Angus King said in a statement that he was “deeply sad for the city of Lewiston and all those worried about their family, friends and neighbors.”
A teenage girl accused of shooting five people outside a Denver club last month was arrested this week in San Bernardino County, according to authorities.
The girl, whose age was not released by police, was arrested Thursday in Barstow, about 115 miles from Los Angeles, according to a Denver Police Department news release. She was arrested on eight counts of first-degree attempted homicide.
She is accused of shooting five people on Sept. 16 in the 1900 block of Market Street, authorities said. All five people survived their injuries.
Police said the girl had tried to get into a bar but was rejected by the club’s security personnel because they thought she wasn’t using her real ID. She left the line and then shot toward the club as she was leaving, authorities said.
Police believe that she had tried to shoot toward security personnel and that those who were wounded were not the intended targets.
The Denver Police Department worked with the FBI’s L.A. SWAT team, the FBI’s L.A. Desert Cities Safe Streets Task Force and the Barstow Police Department to apprehend her. Because she is a minor, her booking photo and arrest affidavit were not released.
Five people, including two juveniles, were shot Sunday night in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood and one of the young victims suffered life-threatening wounds, authorities said.
The shooting happened just after 8:30 outside the Franklin Field housing complex.
The five victims included three adults and two victims under the age of 18.
“I’m angry; I’m upset as a mom,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said at a press conference late Sunday. “I’m praying with all my heart for those in the hospital to recover.”
“We need the help of our community here,” Districut Attorney Kevin Hayden said. “We hope that someone will step forward with information.”
Authorities offered no details on what may have led to the shooting.
