US state of Maine
Governor: At least 18 dead in brutal shooting attack – perpetrator still on the run
Watch the video: Perpetrators still on the run after shooting attacks in Maine.
Video source: rtl.de
A new case of brutal gun violence shocks the USA. In a small town in the northeast of the country, a man is shooting around. Several people are killed. The perpetrator is on the run.
18 people were killed in the gun attack in the town of Lewiston, Maine. Maine Governor Janet Mills announced this on Thursday in Lewiston. 13 people were injured. A gunman caused a bloodbath in a barbecue restaurant and a leisure center with a bowling alley in the small town in the northeast of the USA on Wednesday evening (local time).
The suspected perpetrator fled after the attack. A major manhunt has been underway ever since. Police are looking for a 40-year-old man who is considered “armed and dangerous.” In photos from surveillance cameras he can be seen holding an assault rifle. The man is said to be a military reservist and a trained firearms instructor who was reportedly receiving psychiatric treatment over the summer. Nothing was initially known about possible motives.
Maine: Lewiston perpetrator still at large
People in the area were asked not to leave their homes. Several schools remained closed. On Thursday, the police expanded the security warnings to other locations around Lewiston because the perpetrator had not yet been caught many hours after the attack.
According to police, the first emergency calls were received at 6:56 p.m. local time on Wednesday evening. About ten kilometers from Lewiston, emergency services found the car they were looking for, a small white SUV.
Lewiston has a population of just under 40,000 and is located about 200 kilometers north of Boston on the east coast of the USA. Maine is one of the smaller and sparsely populated states and is located in the northeastern tip of the country. Major attacks with firearms occur much less frequently there than in other parts of the country.
Sad everyday life in the USA
In the USA, rampages and fatal shootings are sadly part of everyday life. Firearms are easily available there and are widely circulated. Bloody attacks with many victims regularly shake the country – for example at schools, supermarkets, nightclubs or at large events. After every major attack, there are new calls for gun laws to be tightened, for example for a ban on assault rifles, which are regularly used in rampages. However, the demands are in vain, not least because of resistance from the Republican ranks.