LEWISTON, Maine — Dozens of tractor-trailers are lined up outside of the Walmart Distribution Center in Lewiston waiting to deliver their goods, a ripple effect of Wednesday's mass shooting.
The trucks are carrying all sorts of goods, from ice cream to candy to paper plates and even vegetables. The problem is, the drivers say there's nobody inside the building to receive the products their trucks are carrying.
“We're stuck between a rock and a hard place because we can't go anywhere,” driver George Castle, who drove from Buffalo with a load of onions, told NEWS CENTER Maine.
Many people who work at the Walmart Distribution Center live in Lewiston, Auburn, Lisbon, or other neighboring communities. Those towns, and the rest of Androscoggin County, are locked down as a shelter-in-place order remains active due to the search for mass shooting suspect Robert Card. For this reason, the workers are not going to their workplace.
The suspected shooter was found dead Friday night.
“We've got a lot of drivers here. I don't know their fuel levels, but we're going to have to find some fuel to keep the truck running and our refuel running, and most of the places are closed," Jerome Neal, who drove from California with a load of vegetables, explained. "It's a major issue."
Castle said Walmart wanted the trucks off the street leading up to the building, but police told them it would be a fiasco trying to move all the trucks back around again.
Some drivers said they are running out of food and they need to drive long distances because everything in Lewiston and neighboring towns is closed.
“About one hundred cargo trucks carrying all sorts of goods from paper plates to vegetables, have been all in line at the Walmart Distribution Center here in Lewiston for the past day and a half, but nobody is here to receive their products,” Castle said.
Drivers estimate there are about 70 to 100 trucks waiting outside the distribution center.
NEWS CENTER Maine has tried to contact Walmart but has not heard back on the company's plan for the trucks and drivers.
The search for suspect Robert Card, 40, of Bowdoin, continues after 18 people were killed in shootings at a restaurant and a bowling alley in Lewiston on Wednesday night. Late Thursday, heavily armed law enforcement backed by a police helicopter had surrounded a Bowdoin home and told anyone who might be inside to surrender, but authorities eventually left without indicating anyone had been taken into custody.
Card is considered to be armed and dangerous, according to police, and members of the public are advised not to approach him or make any contact. An arrest warrant charging Card with eight counts of murder has been issued, and state police said that number would likely rise to 18 as more of the victims are identified.
More than 350 law enforcement officials are involved in the search for Card, according to state police. The search is a coordinated effort between federal, state, and local law enforcement.
A shelter-in-place has been issued for all of Androscoggin County, as well as the town of Bowdoin, which is in Sagadahoc County. People in those areas are asked to stay inside and off the roads until further notice.