At least 22 people have been killed in a series of shootings in the northeastern United States, and the shooter remains at large, local authorities said.
“There is a shooter in the city of Lewiston,” Maine State Police declared on the social network Facebook on Tuesday night (local time).
The man, described as “armed and dangerous”, is named Robert Card and is 40 years old. CNN International, citing security forces sources, said he is a certified shooting instructor and army reservist.
The suspect “remains at large,” said Androscoggin County police, who released photos showing a white man, dressed in a brown shirt and dark blue pants, armed with a semi-automatic rifle.
US police have launched a major operation to find the shooter. According to the mayor of the city of Lewiston, the second largest city in the state of Maine (northeast of the country), between 50 and 60 people were injured in the shooting.
“We have literally hundreds of police officers working across the state of Maine to investigate this case and locate Card,” Maine Secretary of Public Safety Mike Sauschuck told reporters.
The shootings took place at three different locations, including a bowling alley, a restaurant and a fulfillment center at a Walmart supermarket, CNN television reported.
“We have 22 confirmed deaths and many, many injuries,” Lewiston Mayor Robert McCarthy told CNN.
Local authorities asked residents to stay in their homes, with the doors closed, and also published a photograph of a white car, appealing to contact citizens who recognize the vehicle.
The public schools of Lewiston, the second largest city in the state, with around 36,000 inhabitants, will remain closed this Thursday, a school district official reported on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
The state governor, Democrat Janet Mills, said she had been informed of the situation and asked all residents of the area to follow the recommendations of the authorities, according to a message on X.
The White House indicated that the US president, Joe Biden, has already been informed and is awaiting news from the scene.
In the United States, one in three adults owns at least one gun and nearly one in two adults lives in a home with a gun.
Since the beginning of the year, more than 15,000 people have died from gun violence in the country, excluding suicides, according to the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), an independent group that collects information on firearms incidents.
News updated at 10:50 am
Source: TSF
