22 Killed In US Bowling Alley Shooting, Cops Hunt For “Armed, Dangerous” Suspect

Washington, United States:

An enormous manhunt was below means Thursday for a gunman who an area official stated killed at the least 22 folks and wounded “many” extra in mass shootings within the US state of Maine, the deadliest such incident this yr.

Police stated Robert Card — seen in surveillance footage pointing a semi-automatic weapon with an prolonged clip as he walked right into a bowling alley within the city of Lewiston — “should be considered armed and dangerous.” 

Card is an authorized firearms teacher and a member of the US Army Reserve, CNN reported, citing legislation enforcement sources. 

Lewiston metropolis councilor Robert McCarthy informed CNN that legislation enforcement had “confirmed 22 dead, many, many more injured”, with native media reporting shootings had occurred at a number of areas. 

Swathes of Lewiston have been locked down, with companies urged to shutter and other people ordered to shelter in place, because the scourge of horrifying gun violence as soon as once more ripped by an American group.

Maine public security official Mike Sauschuck stated he was not ready to provide a demise toll, calling it “a very fluid situation.”

He informed reporters police have been flooding the streets as they sought the gunman.

“We have literally hundreds of police officers working around the state of Maine to investigate this case, to locate Mr. Card,” he informed reporters.

Rescue automobiles rushed in from round central Maine to are inclined to the wounded, metropolis councilor McCarthy stated, and the 2 Lewiston hospitals “have called in every off-duty staff member that they could to deal with this.”

President Joe Biden made calls — stepping away from a state dinner honoring Australia’s prime minister — to Maine’s governor, its two senators and an area congressman to supply federal help, the White House stated.

Early on Thursday, armed police have been seen guarding the Central Maine Medical Center, the place among the wounded have been being handled.

Several Maine faculty boards and academic establishments, together with Bates College, stated they’d not be holding courses on Thursday, in response to statements.

Multiple areas

Police and rescuers reportedly arrived on the Sparetime Recreation bowling alley at about 7:15 pm native time (00:15 Thursday GMT) in response to an energetic shooter, after which obtained experiences of one other capturing on the Schemengees Bar & Grille, in response to the Sun Journal native newspaper.

Police issued a lot of pictures of 40-year-old Card on the bowling alley, the place he seems calm and composed as he strikes by the doorway together with his rifle raised.

“Please contact law enforcement if you are aware of his whereabouts,” they stated.

Sauschuck stated officers had situated a “vehicle of interest” they’d been searching for — a white sport utility automobile (SUV) — in Lisbon, a city round eight miles (12 kilometers) from Lewiston, the place residents had additionally been warned to remain off the streets.

Card was not within the automobile, experiences stated.

Law enforcement “are investigating two active shooter events,” the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department stated on social media.

“We are encouraging all businesses to lock down and or close while we investigate. The suspect is still at large.”

Maine Governor Janet Mills stated she was “aware of and have been briefed on the active shooter situation in Lewiston.”

CNN reported that at the least 50 folks have been wounded within the incidents, citing a number of legislation enforcement sources, however stated it was unclear how lots of the accidents have been the results of gunfire.

It was unclear if preliminary experiences of photographs being fired at a 3rd web site, a Walmart distribution heart, have been correct.

‘My hometown’

Maine Congressman Jared Golden wrote on social media that “like all Mainers, I’m horrified by the events in Lewison tonight. This is my hometown.”

“Right now, all of us are looking to local law enforcement as they gain control of the situation and gather information. Our hearts break for those who are affected,” he stated.

Distraught residents flocked to native hospitals.

“I’m just overwhelmed. I’ve been here trying to spread, you know, some kind of comfort, some kind of support,” Cynthia Hunter, an area resident, informed CBS affiliate WGME.

The capturing is without doubt one of the deadliest since 2017, when a gunman opened fireplace on a crowded music pageant in Las Vegas, killing about 60 folks.

Gun violence is alarmingly widespread within the United States, a rustic the place there are extra weapons than folks and the place makes an attempt to clamp down on their unfold are at all times met with stiff resistance.

The United States has recorded over 500 mass shootings this yr, in response to the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), a non-governmental group that defines a mass capturing as 4 or extra folks wounded or killed.

Wednesday’s assault was the deadliest mass capturing in 2023 thus far, in response to the GVA’s information.

Efforts to tighten gun controls have for years run up towards opposition from Republicans, staunch defenders of the constitutional proper to bear arms. 

The political paralysis endures regardless of widespread outrage over recurring shootings.

Lewiston is the second most populous metropolis in Maine situated some 30 miles north of the biggest metropolis, Portland.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)