A gunman killed at least 22 people and wounded dozens in mass shootings in Maine, leading to a massive search for the armed and dangerous suspect. President Joe Biden offered federal support in a nation where recurring gun violence remains contentious.
A massive manhunt was underway on Thursday, October 26, for a gunman who a local official said killed at least 22 people and wounded dozens more in mass shootings in the US state of Maine, the deadliest such incident this year.
Police said Robert Card, seen in CCTV footage pointing a semi-automatic weapon with an extended clip as he walked into a bowling alley in Lewiston, “should be considered armed and dangerous.”
Card is a certified firearms instructor and a member of the US Army Reserve, CNN reported, citing law enforcement sources.
Lewiston city councilor Robert McCarthy told CNN that law enforcement had “confirmed 22 dead, many, many more injured”, with local media reporting shootings had occurred at multiple locations.
Swathes of Lewiston were locked down, with businesses urged to shutter, and people ordered to shelter in place as the scourge of horrifying gun violence once again ripped through an American community.
Maine public safety official Mike Sauschuck said he was unprepared to give a death toll, calling it “a very fluid situation.”
He told reporters police were flooding the streets as they sought the gunman.
McCarthy said that rescue vehicles rushed in from around central Maine to tend to the wounded, and the two 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 a local congressman to offer federal support, the White House said.
Gun violence is alarmingly common in the United States, where there are more guns than people, and attempts to clamp down on their spread are always met with stiff resistance.
The United States has recorded over 500 mass shootings this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), a non-governmental organization that defines a mass shooting as four or more people wounded or killed.
Efforts to tighten gun controls have for years run up against opposition from Republicans, staunch defenders of the constitutional right to bear arms.
The political paralysis endures despite widespread outrage over recurring shootings.
Miroslava Salazar, with AFP
