LEWISTON, Maine — A man opened fire at a bar and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, killing at least 18 people, wounding dozens of others and throwing the state's second-largest city into chaos as hundreds of police searched for a person of interest and residents were ordered to shelter in place.
After Wednesday's shooting, a bus took survivors to a middle school in a neighboring city, Auburn, so they could be reunited with family and friends. Others went to the school in hopes of finding out about loved ones.
One witness described a harrowing scene at the bowling alley with shots ringing out while he was putting on his shoes.
The man said he scrambled down the length of the alley without shoes, slid into the area where the pins reside and climbed into the machinery to hide. He said he heard about 10 shots before hiding.
"There was a loud pop," said the man, who identified himself only by his first name, Brandon. "I had my back turned to the door. And as soon as I turned and saw it was not a balloon, he was holding a weapon. I just booked it."
"I was putting on my bowling shoes when I when it started. I've been barefoot for five hours," he said.
A police intelligence bulletin identified Robert Card, who was trained as a firearms instructor at a U.S. Army Reserve training facility in Maine, as suspect in Wednesday's shootings. The document, reviewed by The Associated Press and circulated to law enforcement officials, says Card had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks in the summer of 2023. It did not provide specific details about his treatment or condition.
