Several people were killed in a gun attack in the town of Lewiston, Maine. There were several victims, a police spokesman said. He did not want to give exact numbers. The situation is still too unclear.
The police are searching for the shooter with a large number. “We have literally hundreds of police officers on duty,” said a police spokesman. Investigators are looking for a 40-year-old man who is considered “armed and dangerous.” According to media reports, it is said to be a firearms instructor trained by the military. So far nothing is known about possible motives.
US media, citing security sources, reported up to 22 deaths. City councilor Robert McCarthy also mentioned this number in an interview with CNN. There are also “many, many more injured.” The reports mention dozens of injuries. There was initially no official confirmation of the number of victims.
Attacks in multiple locations
The authorities are calling on the population to stay indoors and not go out on the streets. Shops and restaurants were advised to close. The schools should also remain closed. “Please continue to seek shelter or get to safety,” the school board said in a statement.
The police authorities in the city of Lewiston and Androscoggin County said emergency services responded to shots fired in several locations. The police released surveillance camera images of a suspected shooter. It showed a man with a gun pointed at him.
The police also published a photo of a car and asked for information from the public about the man and the car. ABC and CNN reported that the attacks took place in a barbecue restaurant and a leisure center with bowling alleys.
Lewiston is a town of approximately 39,000 residents in southwest Maine. The state is located on the east coast of the USA. McCarthy said the small town’s hospitals weren’t equipped to handle a situation like this – “they’re doing what they can.” The situation is surreal. “It’s just so unreal,” McCarthy said. “You see it on the news and you tell yourself it’s never going to happen here. And then it happens here and it just blows your mind.”
In the USA, rampages and fatal shootings are sadly part of everyday life. Firearms are readily available and widely circulated in the United States. Bloody attacks with many victims regularly shake the country.
The White House said US President Joe Biden had been informed of the incident and would continue to be kept up to date. He spoke on the phone with Maine Governor Janet Mills, as well as with members of Congress from the state, and offered full federal support after the “horrible attack.” Biden was hosting a state banquet for Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the U.S. government headquarters on Wednesday evening while the attack occurred in Maine.
