LEWISTON, Maine — A boy was brought to a local hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening after police say he was hit by debris from an apparent shooting overnight in Lewiston that is under investigation.
Officers responded to a call around 1 a.m. Monday in the area of Pine and Jefferson streets for a report of multiple gunshots being fired, Lewiston police said Monday afternoon in a news release.
Several people who said they witnessed the incident spoke with officers at the scene and described hearing the gunfire before a vehicle apparently sped off. Officers in the area found several shell casings in the road where the shooting was reported.
Police were then called shortly after to a 7-Eleven store on Main Street, where a boy there was said to have suffered a gunshot injury to his leg. However, public safety officials were able to determine his injury was not caused by a direct hit from a bullet but was instead the result of shrapnel or glass debris that struck him.
"Paramedics and police responded and located the male in a vehicle that had numerous bullet holes," police said in the release. "The vehicle matched the description of the vehicle that had been seen fleeing Pine/Jefferson following the shooting."
The boy was brought to Central Maine Medical Center to be treated for his injuries.
Police said in the release that the victim and all other passengers in the vehicle were not cooperating in the investigation.
Melisa Hitaj is one of many people in the community who said they heard the shooting Monday morning.
"I was honestly just laying in bed and I have an alleyway window, so it just echoed through," Hitaj said. "I heard like four shots."
Hitaj works at a local store at the corner of Jefferson and Pine Streets. She said when something happens in the neighborhood or in the city, she either hears about it or learns about it first-hand. She explained that each time an incident of violence happens, she feels a little more uneasy.
"You can ask anyone around, too. Not a lot of us like to walk around at night alone at night," Hitaj said. "Just the atmosphere has changed."
Hitaj has lived in Lewiston for 19 years. She said incidents like the shooting that happened Monday seem to be happening more frequently.
Over the weekend, Lewiston and Auburn police responded to a shots fired call on Essex Street. Police said there was man who was shooting in the area. According to police, the man started to shoot at officers, and then escaped into the woods.
The man was later found dead in a wooded area. Hitaj said she first heard about Saturday night's incident on Facebook. She explained that the incident reminded her of the mass shooting that happened in Lewiston last year.
Director of the Maine Resiliency Center Danielle Parent says trauma is cumulative. Parent says often, violent events tend to linger in people's minds, and can easily be triggered.
"The unknown is there, and there may be a risk to public safety, and that can certainly bring up old feelings or spark new ones," Parent said.
Seeing back-to-back incidents of violence leaves some wondering how the community can move forward.
Hitaj said mental health plays a role in some of the things that happen in the city. But she also said there are groups of people who seem to be unphased.
"Not a lot of people are feeling the discipline from it, so in my opinion, it's becoming a lot easier to go out and do things like shootings and things like that because there's no reinforcement behind it from what I've seen," Hitaj said.
Hitaj and others like Alisha Starbard, who works in Lewiston, said they want to find ways to bring the community together—that it's sad to see some people consistently tearing it apart.
"I feel sad. I feel sad for the community. I feel sad for the people who are commuting here and are just trying to make this place safer and a better place to be," Starbard said.
Lewiston police ask that anyone with information about the case or possible witnesses to the incident contact Det. Nicholas Wiers by calling 207-513-3001 ext. 3312 or emailing nwiers@lewistonmaine.gov.