A 40-year-old man opened fire in a restaurant and a bowling alley in Lewiston, a small town in Maine in the United States of America, leaving 22 dead and 60 injured. The attacker’s name is Robert Card, and last summer he was admitted to an institution for the mentally challenged. The hospitalization occurred after Card claimed to hear voices and threatened to open fire at the Saco National Guard base.
The Lewiston Police Department asked residents to shelter in place and protect themselves as “he is considered armed and dangerous.” Maine law enforcement describes him as a certified firearms instructor and a member of the U.S. Army Reserve.
Local authorities also released a photo of a white car, asking citizens to contact them if they recognize the vehicle. The car was reportedly spotted in Lisbon, a town about 8 miles southeast of Leicester. Schools will remain closed today, a school district official said.
“I am appalled by the events in Lewiston this evening,” Maine Rep. Jared Golden said in a statement. “It is an overwhelming situation. We’ve never experienced anything like this,” testified Cynthia Hunter, who has lived in Lewiston since 2012. Lewiston is part of Androscoggin County and is about 56 km north of Maine’s largest city, Portland, north- eastern United States.
According to the White House, US President Joe Biden was immediately informed of the situation and spoke with several representatives of Maine, including Governor Janet Mills, offering all the necessary federal support.
The Lewiston massacre is the 36th mass killing since the beginning of the year. At least 188 people lost their lives in these events. For the United States, this is the second-highest number of mass murders and deaths in a single year: only 2019 had recorded a higher number of such events.