Even more than 24 hours after the gun attacks that left 18 dead in Maine, the perpetrator has not yet been caught. Hundreds of police officers are searching for him. Stricter gun laws are being discussed again.
US media broadcast the search for the Maine shooter around the clock. “We see at least two vehicles in front of the house,” is how a reporter on CNN describes the situation. It is the house where the suspect, a 40-year-old man, apparently lived.
The police approached the house in the evening in the small town of Bowdoin in the state of Maine with a large contingent of police cars. Officers combed several properties. It is not known whether the suspect is in one of the houses searched, police said. Little by little some of the cars moved away again.
The suspect probably had psychological problems
The wanted man is considered armed and dangerous, warned the Governor of Maine, Janet Mills, and called on the people of Maine not to approach the wanted man under any circumstances. Lewiston and other towns in the area appear deserted, schools and many businesses are closed. The 40-year-old has been on the run since Wednesday evening after, according to the investigation, he shot 18 people and injured 13 in a restaurant and a bowling center. His motive remains unclear.
It has now become known that the suspect is a firearms instructor and reservist in the US Army and has psychological problems. In the summer he was apparently admitted to a psychiatric facility for two weeks. Still, he was able to own a gun in Maine.
Discussion about stricter gun laws
There are still many questions to be answered, said Main’s independent Senator Angus King on CNN. In principle, however, it is difficult to impose weapons bans. “If they say they lose their right to bear arms if they take a mental health evaluation or seek mental health services, then a lot of people will say they won’t go for the evaluation,” King said. “That’s the opposite of what we want.” The situation is complicated.
And as always after gun attacks in the USA, there is discussion about stricter gun laws. And so US President Joe Biden – once again – called on Congress to pass a ban on semi-automatic rifles and expand background checks for gun buyers.
Vice President Kamala Harris said gun violence is the number one cause of death for children in the United States. It doesn’t have to be that way. And Biden’s spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre emphasized that Congress has the power to pass laws that make the streets, the communities and the schools safer. Jean-Pierre also pointed to the introduction of background checks, which are almost non-existent in Maine.
According to the non-governmental organization Gun Violence Archive, the shooting in Lewiston was the 566th gun attack with at least four deaths in the United States this year. It was also the deadliest attack in the United States this year.