The latest mass shooting to afflict the nation claimed about two dozen lives and left more than 50 others wounded Wednesday night, sending a small New England town into terror.

The carnage in Lewiston, Maine, began around 7 p.m., when the first of at least three shooting attacks was reported, according to the Lewiston Sun Journal. At least 22 were reported dead. A manhunt involving hundreds of officers was underway late Wednesday, Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck said at a press conference.

Cops first received calls about a shooter at a bowling alley, the Sun Journal reported. A short time later, another shooting struck a nearby bar and grill. A children’s event was happening at the bowling alley at the time of the violence, Lewiston Councilor Robert McCarthy told CNN.

Maine State Police urged residents to shelter in place following reports of an active shooter in multiple locations.

“Please stay inside your home with the doors locked,” they wrote social media. “Law enforcement is currently investigating at two locations right now. Again please stay off the streets and allow law enforcement to diffuse the situation.”

A third shooting was reported at a Walmart Distribution Center shortly after 8 p.m. Sirens roared throughout town following reports of a possible fourth shooting around 9 p.m., according to the Sun Journal.

The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office posted a photo online of a suspect with an assault rifle wearing cargo pants and pointing a weapon. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Boston was assisting the response.

Local cops named Robert Card, 40, as a person of interest in the mass shooting, adding that he “should be considered armed and dangerous.” At the late Wednesday press conference, Sauschuck stopped short of calling him a suspect or providing any details about him.

A vehicle of interest was located in the town of Lisbon, where residents were also asked to shelter in place, according to the commissioner.

He had few details on the situation, saying, “The delay in coming here with you now is simply because we wanted to confirm information from our end.”

The violence left locals stunned.

“It was just a fun night playing cornhole … it’s the last thing you’re expecting, right?” Kathy Lebel, owner of Schemengees Bar & Grille, told the Sun Journal. “I still feel like this whole thing is a nightmare.”

Lebel wasn’t at her establishment at the time of the attack, but said a person walked in and “started shooting,” prompting staff to scramble.

The FBI field office in Boston said it was ready to assist, according to CNN.

“The FBI Boston Division continues to coordinate with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners in Maine and we stand ready to assist with any available resources they need, including evidence response, investigative and tactical support, as well as victim assistance,” the bureau said in a statement.

So far this year, the country has seen over 500 mass shootings, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Vermont Sen. Angus King said he was “deeply sad” for Lewiston and “all those worried about their family, friends and neighbors.”

Rep. Chellie Pingree echoed the sentiment.

“I am closely monitoring the reports of mass shootings in Lewiston. The unfolding violence is shocking and I am holding the affected communities in my prayers,” the lawmaker said in a statement.

— Brian Niemietz / New York Daily News 

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©2023 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Police have still shared few details about the mass shootings that left as many as 20 people dead in Maine’s second-largest city on Wednesday night.

But it was clear that something devastating had hit Lewiston, in the hours after a shooter allegedly opened fire in the Just In Time Recreation bowling alley and Schemengees Bar & Grille.

It was the first time a Maine community had experienced the kind of highly public mass shooting that makes national news. That was clear from the large public safety response — followed by the groups of journalists in the hours since.

Around 8 p.m., the interstate highway leading to Lewiston was filled with police cruisers and first responders racing to the scene — lights flashing, sirens screaming.

Downtown, the streets were eerily quiet as residents mostly heeded a lockdown warning, save for the occasional bicyclist or passerby.

“This is crazy,” said resident Jess Paquette, who was out walking her dog Henrietta. “This is just nuts.”

But the police presence was hard to ignore over the next few hours. For a time, officers flocked to a Walmart distribution center that was the site of a suspected third shooting, but that site was eventually cleared.

Many other officers remained stationed throughout the city, guarding a hospital where shooting victims had been taken and using searchlights to inspect the insides of cars.

State Police have identified 40-year-old Robert R. Card II as a person of interest in the shootings.

Officers were also set up on Route 196 in the neighboring town of Lisbon, turning away motorists so that they could continue searching after Card’s car was found in that area.

For a time, a helicopter was also circling overhead.

Back in town, even though things were quiet, there were still clear signs of the unfolding tragedy.

Loved ones of victims were seen walking in and out of Central Maine Medical Center, with police officers escorting some families to their cars.

One man asked a reporter for a cigarette, saying his son was shot and in the hospital. He declined to share more information.

Across the river in Auburn, a middle school was converted to a site for people to reunite with loved ones who witnessed the shootings. Small groups of people could be seen walking out, wrapped in blankets and holding each other.

They declined interviews and kept going to their vehicles.

One man and woman stopped in front of their truck and hugged. When they got in the vehicle, a voice could be heard on the other end of a speaker phone call.

“Hi mom,” the voice said. “Are you OK?”

—  Charles Eichacker / Bangor Daily News, Maine 

BDN editor Michael Shepherd, reporter Billy Kobin, and photographers Troy R. Bennett and Linda Coan O’Kresik contributed to this report.

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(c)2023 the Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine)

Visit the Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine) at www.bangordailynews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

The Ravens’ 38 points Sunday against the Lions was their highest output of the season. Lamar Jackson’s 357 passing yards were the second-most of his career, and he produced a near-perfect passer rating of 155.8. And Baltimore’s defense shut down a Detroit team that was averaging 28 points, 383.7 yards and had scored at least 20 points in 15 straight games.

Yet, quarterback Lamar Jackson, who on Wednesday was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week, didn’t so much as crack a smile afterward, a demeanor that, to a man, seems to have carried over this week as the Ravens (5-2) prepare to play the Cardinals (1-6) on Sunday in Arizona.

The Ravens, at least publicly, don’t appear to be bathing in their own press clippings, to borrow a phrase from basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton. Of course, that’s what happens when you have a team that beat the Bengals in Cincinnati in Week 2 only to lose at home the following week to the Indianapolis Colts. The Ravens also blew out the Browns in Cleveland in Week 4, only to surrender a double-digit lead against the Steelers in Pittsburgh the following week.

Even Sunday’s 38-6 dismantling of the Lions wasn’t without at least one mishap, notably a fumble by Jackson on an exchange with running back Justice Hill.

Now they’ll face a lowly Cardinals team that has lost four straight and is averaging just 18.1 points per game. Is it a trap?

“I believe you have a trap game or something like that when you get complacent or [are] thinking, ‘OK we just beat this team 30-something to 6, so we’re not worried about this team,’” Jackson said Wednesday. “I believe that’s when that stuff pops into your brain, but I don’t believe our guys are like that.”

Unsurprisingly, that includes the guy in charge.

“We talk to them along those lines,” said coach John Harbaugh, who added that unlike Alabama coach Nick Saban he didn’t have any “clever” rat poison comments for his players.

“We had a good game last week. We have to have the best game we can have this week against a completely different defense, completely different situation. We’re on the road. All those things change. That’ll be our goal. The mission is to keep trying to have a good game from week to week and overarchingly try to improve and get better at all the little things you do.”

His players seem to have gotten the message.

“Right now, we’re just chasing to be consistent,” Jackson said. “We had a couple games where we were good, then the next week it was like, what’s going on with the offense?”

Added wide receiver Rashod Bateman: “I gotta think we make this a bigger deal than it needs to be. We had a good game on Sunday and I think we just turn the page and focus on the Cardinals.”

Many of the usual cliches flowed throughout the locker room.

One game at a time. There’s a lot of football left. Any given Sunday anybody can win.

That’s especially true of Jackson, whose 16-1 mark against the NFC is the best record against an opposing conference since 1970. And he’s coming off a game in which he became just the fourth player in NFL history to record 350 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, one rushing score and finish with a passer rating of 150 or better.

Still, when Jackson was presented with the lion spike by Harbaugh following the win over Detroit, he simply took it and walked back to his locker with nothing in the way of celebration.

As for facing the Cardinals?

“You come out and treat them the way you treated all the other games,” cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. “The thing about a one-win team [is] they’re hungry for that second win or a winless team, so they’re going to come out [and] play hard, we just have to play a little bit harder.”

Added tight end Mark Andrews: “We know the type of team that they are. This is going to be a good game. For us, it’s about doing our job — doing everything that we can during this week. Every week’s a new challenge. Every week’s going to provide something different, so it’s just about handling that, being ourselves and continuing to grow to become the team that we want to be.”

Indeed, the Ravens have struggled to take that next step and string together consistent strong performances in games they’re expected to win, though Jackson did note their victory over the Tennessee Titans in London was followed by Sunday’s win against the Lions. Now comes the opportunity for a third straight.

“I believe we’re going in the right direction,” Jackson said. “We need to keep going.”

Week 8

Ravens at Cardinals

Sunday, 4:25 p.m.

TV: CBS

Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM

Line: Ravens by 8 1/2

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