At least 22 people died in several shootings that occurred in the state of Maine, in the northeast of the United States, on Thursday, October 26, with the shooter still on the run, according to several American media and local authorities.
“We have 22 confirmed deaths and many, many injured”Robert McCarthy, elected official from Lewiston, a town of more than 36,000 inhabitants where the tragedy took place, told CNN. “Our hospitals are not equipped to handle this type of shooting”he added, specifying that there were between 50 and 60 injured depending on the city.
The alleged suspect is “still on the run” said Androscoggin County police, who released photos showing a man wearing a brown top and dark blue pants, armed with a semi-automatic rifle.
The shootings took place in at least two different locations, a bowling alley and a restaurant, according to CNN. Another killing took place the same evening in a logistics center of a Walmart supermarket, according to several American media.
US President Joe Biden was briefed on the events and spoke with several Maine elected officials, including Governor Janet Mills, offering all necessary federal support, according to the White House.
Public schools closed Thursday
Local authorities, who asked residents to stay at home, also published a photo of a white car, asking citizens to contact them if they recognized the vehicle.
Public schools will be closed Thursday, a school district official said on X (formerly Twitter). “I am horrified by the events in Lewiston tonight”declared Maine elected official Jared Golden in a press release.
The United States is paying a very heavy price for the spread of firearms on its territory and the ease with which Americans have access to them. The country has more individual weapons than inhabitants: one in three adults owns at least one weapon and almost one in two adults lives in a home where there is a weapon.
The consequence of this proliferation is the very high rate of firearm deaths in the United States, incomparable to that of other developed countries. Excluding suicides, more than 15,000 people have died in gun violence since the start of the year in the country, according to the Gun Violence Archive (GVA) association.