At least 16 people were killed in shootings in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday night, State Police said. Multiple sources said dozens were injured, but it was unclear how many had been shot.
A person of interest was at large, State Police said.
Maine Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck told a news conference that the shootings began shortly before 7 p.m. State Police said shortly after 8 p.m. that they were investigating “multiple locations.”
Authorities are attempting to locate 40-year-old Robert R. Card as a person of interest in the shootings, the Lewiston Police Department said in a Facebook post late Wednesday night. He is considered armed and dangerous.
According to a Maine law enforcement bulletin seen by CBS News, Card is a trained firearms instructor believed to be in the Army reserve stationed out of Saco, Maine.
He recently reported mental health issues, including hearing voices, according to the bulletin. He had also threatened to shoot up the National Guard base in Saco, Maine, the bulletin said, and he was reported to have been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks this summer.
A “vehicle of interest” was recovered by police in Lisbon, Maine, some seven miles southeast of Lewiston, State Police said.
State Police urged residents of Lewiston and Lisbon to shelter in place. “Please stay inside your home with the doors locked,” they wrote on social media.
Authorities later expanded the shelter-in-place request to Bowdoin, Maine, where Card is from. “Please stay inside your homes while more than 100 investigators, both local and federal work to locate Robert Card,” they said.
Numerous schools in the region are closed Thursday due to the manhunt for Card, according to CBS Portland, Maine affiliate WGME-TV. Portland is among the places where schools will be shut.
Lewiston police said they responded to Schemengees Bar and Grille and a bowling alley called Sparetime Recreation. They appear to be about a 10-minute drive from each other.
An owner of Schemengees said in a Facebook post that, “My heart is crushed. I am at a loss for words. In a split second your world gets turn upside down for no good reason. We loss great people in this community. How can we make any sense of this. Sending out prayers to everyone.”
One man at the bowling alley said he heard about 10 shots and thought the first was a balloon popping. “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,” he told The Associated Press, adding that he then hurried down the length of the alley and his in the machinery behind the pins.
Authorities shared images of a person of interest and asked people to contact them “if you recognize this individual.”
Police also shared a photo of a white vehicle and asked anyone who recognized it to contact Lewiston police. It was not immediately clear if this was the same vehicle that had been recovered in Lisbon, but it did match a description from the law enforcement bulletin about a vehicle Card was known to have been driving.
Card has connections to Massachusetts, according to CBS News Boston sources, and Massachusetts State Police and federal agents are staged at the Maine border.
The Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston said in a statement that it was “reacting to a mass casualty, mass shooter event,” but did not have further details on the number of patients or severity of their injuries.
The Maine Medical Center in Portland said it was receiving “one patient transport” from the Central Maine Medical Center in connection with the shootings. The Portland hospital said it had “alerted on-call staff and created critical care and operating room capacity in anticipation of potential patient transports.”
The city of Auburn, Maine, which borders Lewiston to the west, advised residents of both Auburn and Lewiston to shelter in place. Lewiston is about 45 minutes north of Portland.
Maine has had 16-to-29 homicides each year since 2012, according to the Reuters news service, citing State Police.
A White House official confirmed to CBS News that President Biden had been briefed on “what’s known so far about the mass shooting in Lewiston.”
A White House official also told CBS News Mr. Biden “stepped out” of a state dinner honoring Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “to make calls. He spoke by phone individually to Maine Governor Janet Mills, Senators Angus King and Susan Collins, and Rep. Jared Golden about the shooting in Lewiston. The president offered full federal support in the wake of this horrific attack.”
The FBI is also responding, an agency official told CBS News.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has also been briefed.
“The entire Department of Homeland Security grieves with the loved ones of those killed and injured, and stands with the brave law enforcement officers and first responders who are currently working to secure and safeguard the people of Lewiston,” Mayorkas said in a statement.
Mills released a statement saying she was briefed on the situation. “I urge all people in the area to follow the direction of State and local enforcement,” Mills said. “I will continue to monitor the situation and remain in close contact with public safety officials.”
King’s office said in a statement that he was “deeply sad for the city of Lewiston and all those worried about their family, friends and neighbors.”
Collins noted on social media that she had also spoken with Mr. Biden. “As our state mourns this horrific mass shooting, we appreciate the support we’ve received from across the country, including the call I received from President Biden offering assistance,” she wrote
— additional reporting by Brian Dakss.
