TIRANA, October 26 – Some 18 people were killed and another 13 injured in the shootings last night in Lewiston, Maine, US, said Maine Governor Janet Mills at a Thursday press conference.
She said she and President Biden have ordered all U.S. and Maine flags lowered to half-staff immediately for five days in their honor.
The cities of Lewiston, Lisbon and Bowdoin remain under a shelter-in-place order as law enforcement continue searching for Robert Card, whom authorities described as armed and dangerous. People should not approach him under any circumstances, she added.
While Card had initially been described as a person of interest, officials confirmed he is viewed as a suspect now that there are arrest warrants for him on murder charges.
They say it is too soon to release information about the victims or speculate about Card’s motives, as efforts to find him and notify the families continue.
In the meantime, Mills said Maine’s 1.3 million residents are sharing in the sorrow of people who lost loved ones. “This is a dark day for Maine,” the Governor said. “I know it’s hard for us to think about healing when our hearts are broken. But I want every person in Maine to know that we will heal together. We are strong, we are resilient, we are very caring people.”
Police named 40-year-old Robert Card, an army reservist and firearms instructor, as the suspect in the Wednesday night killings at a bowling alley and restaurant in Lewiston. Card, who has a history of mental illness, was described as “armed and dangerous”. /Argumentum.al- US news agencies
