Hundreds of Police Search for Maine Gunman As 16 Feared Dead
BBC News.
- Police search for Maine Gunman
At least 16 people are feared to have been killed in a mass shooting in the city of Lewiston in Maine.
Current updates reveal 22 people to have been killed so far.
Number of dead not confirmed, but reports range from 16 to 22
Authorities in Maine have not confirmed the number of people killed.
But multiple law enforcement officials told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, that at least 16 people were dead.
The officials also indicated the death toll could be higher than 20.
Lewiston City Councillor Robert McCarthy, citing a city administrator, told CNN that at least 22 people were killed.
The suspected gunman is still on the loose – police named Robert R. Card, 40, as a person of interest.
They said he should be considered “armed and dangerous” and have told residents of Lewiston and nearby Lisbon to shelter in place.
Police said they responded to two locations, a restaurant called Schemengees, and Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley.
Billie Jayne Cooke, a shocked Lewiston resident, told the BBC she was just leaving a public event on Wednesday evening when she first heard of the attack and that the shooter was on the run.
“The entire ride home was just solid sirens, one siren after another. 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,” said a visibly distressed Cooke.
“It’s horrible. We always say it’s not a matter of when but if, and you just don’t think that’s ever going to happen – and it did.”
Cooke added that she called one of her sons as she was driving home.
“It just, it’s crazy. I can’t process this because it just seems so unimaginable.”
Police have named Robert Card, 40, as a person of interest, saying he is “armed and dangerous.”
The gunman remains at large – but hundreds of officers across the state are involved in the manhunt.
Police said they responded to reports at two locations: a restaurant called Schemengees Bar & Grille and Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley
A mother, who was at Sparetime with her family at the time of the shooting, says she lay on top of her daughter, 11, to protect her.
Lewiston, a small city of about 38,000, has been put on lockdown – businesses have been told to close and people to stay at home.
Lewiston Governor Janet Mills.
“I urge all people in the [Lewiston] area to follow the direction of state and local enforcement,” Governor Janet Mills said in reaction to the mass shooting in Lewiston.
She explained that she will “continue to monitor the situation and remain in close contact with public safety officials”.
When BBC reported earlier, US President Joe Biden said he had spoken Mills, as well as Senators Angus King and Susan Collins, and Congressman Jared Golden about the situation in Lewiston.
The president offered full federal support in the wake of the attack.
More details of this ongoing BBC News can be accessed Live at: https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world
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