The suspected shooter in the shooting spree that left 18 dead and 13 injured in the US state of Maine is no longer alive. After a two-day search, the police found the suspect’s body on Friday evening (local time), said Maine Governor Janet Mills. She had an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a Department of Public Safety spokesman.
“I’m breathing a sigh of relief tonight,” Mills said. The suspect no longer poses a threat. Now begins a long and difficult journey to come to terms with the cruel act. The gunman opened fire at a recreation center and a barbecue restaurant in the small town of Lewiston on Wednesday evening. He then escaped and his trail was lost in the wooded surroundings. After a relatively short time, the police identified a 40-year-old reserve soldier as the suspected perpetrator. His motive remained unclear. He was reportedly undergoing psychiatric treatment a few weeks ago and was said to have imagined hearing voices. It was initially unclear whether this was a cause of the crime.
The police searched for the suspect with a large number for around 48 hours. Escape by boat was also not ruled out. After the incident, a state of emergency prevailed in the rural area in the northern state – public life practically came to a standstill. Authorities imposed a kind of curfew and asked tens of thousands of people in several communities not to leave their homes. Schools and shops remained closed for fear of the perpetrator.
Forests, swamps and wide open spaces
The order was only lifted on Friday evening (local time). The authorities finally announced the names of the 18 people who died. The youngest was only 14 years old, the oldest was 76. The investigators received more than 500 tips from residents in connection with the search. Even before the body was found, the security authorities made it clear that the suspect could have killed himself. The media reported on a possible suicide note – and that the man is said to have only legally acquired the murder weapon shortly before the crime.
Lewiston has almost 40,000 residents and is located about 200 kilometers north of Boston on the US east coast. The city is about a 30-minute drive from Bowdoin, the suspect’s hometown. About ten kilometers from Lewiston, the police found the wanted man’s car on a river near a boat launch. The search was also very difficult because the sparsely populated area has many forests and swamps. In Maine, just 1.3 million people live in an area the size of Hungary.