Breaking News From US: At least 22 killed, 50-60 Injured in Maine Mass Shooting
US: At least 22 killed, dozens wounded in Maine mass shooting
At least 22 people were killed and 50 to 60 wounded on Wednesday in mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, NBC News reported, citing a Lewiston police source.
Maine State Police and a county sheriff previously reported there had been an active shooter on Wednesday night but did not provide details.
Earlier today, the Lewiston Police said that it was investigating at least two active shooter events in the city, while posting two photographs of a suspect pointing what appeared to be a semiautomatic rifle, according to Reuters.
“We are encouraging all businesses to lock down and or close while we investigate. The suspect is still at large,” the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Facebook.
“There is an active shooter in Lewiston,” Maine state police said on the social media platform X. “We ask people to shelter in place. Please stay inside your home with the doors locked. Law enforcement is currently investigating at multiple locations.”
The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office posted two photographs of a suspect on Facebook, saying he was at large.
The county sheriff asked for the public’s help in identifying the pictured suspect, a bearded man in a long-sleeved shirt and jeans holding a rifle in the firing position.
The Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston issued a statement saying it was “reacting to a mass casualty, mass shooter event” and coordinating with area hospitals to take patients.
Lewiston is part of Androscoggin County and about 35 miles (56 km) north of Maine’s largest city, Portland.
The Sun Journal, citing a Lewiston police spokesperson, reported shootings at three separate businesses: Sparetime Recreation, Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant, and a Walmart distribution center.
President Joe Biden has been briefed and will continue to receive updates, a U.S. official said in Washington.
Maine Governor Janet Mills said in a statement she had been briefed on the situation.
The shooting is the deadliest mass shooting in the United States since at least May 2022, when a gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Texas’ Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 children and two teachers, according to Reuters, which cited data from the Gun Violence Archive.
The number of US shootings in which four or more people were shot has surged since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. At least 647 such incidents were reported in 2022, the data from the archive showed.
(With inputs from agencies)