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Police have released images of a man with a military-style assault rifle in a bowling alley and say they are looking for “armed and dangerous” Robert Card.<\/p>\n
The 40-year-old, with 20 years military service, worked as an army firearms instructor and recently spent time at a mental health facility after hearing voices, according to an internal police notice.<\/p>\n
According to law enforcement sources, between 15 to 20 people are believed to have been killed.<\/p>\n
NBC News earlier reported 22 people had been killed, citing a Lewiston police source.<\/p>\n
As many as 50 people are also said to have been injured, not all of whom were shot. Some reportedly had injuries from a stampede.<\/p>\n
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Police say the shootings happened at about 7pm on Wednesday at Schemengees Bar and Grille and Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley – which are situated about four miles apart.<\/p>\n
They have also posted a photo of a white Subaru they want to trace, later found in the nearby town of Lisbon.<\/p>\n
Sky’s US correspondent Martha Kelner said the owner of the bowling alley says it was packed at the time with at least 100 people, including around 20 children.<\/p>\n
Central Maine Medical Center referred to a “mass casualty, mass shooter event” but did not give numbers.<\/p>\n
Off-duty staff, doctors and nurses have been asked to come in to work to deal with the number of casualties, said Kelner.<\/p>\n
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Hospitals as far away as Portland, about 35 miles to the south, have been placed on alert to potentially receive victims.<\/p>\n
Maine’s public health commissioner, Mike Sauschuck, confirmed multiple casualties but also said he didn’t have a precise figure.<\/p>\n
He said “hundreds” of police are looking for “person of interest” Robert Card.<\/p>\n
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Kelner said information released by officials suggested the gunman was a member of the US army reserve suffering from mental health issues, who had threatened to carry out a shooting at a national guard base in Maine.<\/p>\n
“Questions will come down the road about just why and how he was able to maintain ownership of such a powerful weapon,” she said.<\/p>\n
President Joe Biden has been briefed and spoke to the state’s governor to offer full federal support, the White House said.<\/p>\n
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Governor Janet Mills echoed police instructions for residents to stay off the streets and businesses to lockdown or close until authorities give the all-clear.<\/p>\n
Superintendent Jake Langlais said schools would be shut on Thursday, adding: “Stay close to your loved ones. Embrace them.”<\/p>\n
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The mayor of the neighbouring city of Auburn – just across the Androscoggin River – told reporters witnesses “of all ages” including teenagers are being interviewed at an undisclosed safe location.<\/p>\n
Jason Levesque added families gathered at a community centre are being told whether their loved ones who had been at the bar and bowling alley are among the fatalities.<\/p>\n
“There’s fear, there’s panic,” he said, adding: “Something like this doesn’t just get solved overnight and nobody can expect it to. But we’ve got a really strong community. We’ve overcome a lot and we’ll overcome this.”<\/p>\n
WHO IS ‘PERSON OF INTEREST’ ROBERT CARD?<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
A bulletin put out by the Maine Information and Analysis Center, a database for law enforcement officials, said 40-year-old Card is a trained firearms instructor and was believed to be in the Army Reserve.<\/p>\n
It added that law enforcement said Card \u201crecently reported mental health issues to include hearing voices and threats to shoot up the National Guard Base in Saco, Maine\u201d.<\/p>\n
The bulletin said Card was reported to have been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks this summer and then released.<\/p>\n
Sky News has not been able to independently verify the bulletin\u2019s statements about Card\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Lewiston is a city of about 35,000 people in the far northeast of the US.<\/p>\n
Maine<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0has one of the lowest per capita murder rates in America, with state police recording only 29 homicides in 2022.<\/p>\n Before Wednesday’s incident, the\u00a0deadliest US mass shooting of 2023<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0was in Monterey Park, California, where 11 people were murdered during a Chinese New Year event.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Source: \u00a0![\"Sky](\"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sky-news-logo-1.png\"){kind=logo}
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