Bar struck by Maine mass shooting mourns victims: “In a split second your world gets turn upside down”
Maine #Maine
Official gives update on Maine shootings
Police searching for person of interest in Maine shootings, official says 06:14
At least 16 people are dead after shootings at two separate businesses in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday night, officials have told CBS News. Hours after the shootings, one of the businesses, a local bar that was hosting a discounted night for those who work in the bar and restaurant industry, released a statement saying, “My heart is crushed.”
“I am at a loss for words,” Schemengees Bar and Grill wrote on Facebook early Thursday morning. “In a split second your world gets turn upside down for no good reason. We loss great people in this community. How can we make any sense of this. Sending out prayers to everyone.”
Schemengees, situated in Lewiston right off the Androscoggin River, had been offering a 25% discount to guests on Wednesday night who work in the restaurant and bar industry.
Kathy Lebel, co-owner of the bar, told local outlet the Lewiston Sun Journal that she wasn’t at the business when the shooting broke out, but that people who were at the restaurant told her someone walked in and “started shooting.”
“It was just a fun night playing cornhole. … It’s the last thing you’re expecting, right?” she told the Journal. “I still feel like this whole thing is a nightmare.”
Law enforcement gather outside Schemengee’s Bar and Grille, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. Residents have been ordered to shelter in place as police continue to search for the suspect of Wednesday’s mass shooting at the bar. Robert F. Bukaty / AP
Multiple sources have told CBS News that dozens of people were injured in the shootings, which also took place at local bowling alley Sparetime Recreation, roughly 4 miles from Schemengees.
So far, police have identified a person of interest and a vehicle that may be connected to the shootings. As of Thursday morning, police are still looking for the person of interest, 40-year-old Robert Card, who they say is considered armed and dangerous. A Maine law enforcement bulletin seen by CBS News states that Card is a trained firearms instructor and is believed to be stationed in a local Army reserve.
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