FBI operation underway at address in Maine after gunman kills at least 18 in US mass shooting
Residents hid in their homes as hundreds of police officers launched a manhunt in Maine for a gunman who fatally shot 18 people, ITV News' Dan Rivers reports
An FBI operation is underway after a gunman shot at least 18 people dead in the US state of Maine, in what has become the country's deadliest mass shooting in 2023 so far.
Several FBI agents and other heavily armed officers gathered outside a home where several relatives of suspect Robert Card live near Bowdoin.
A military-style vehicle and a white van arrived and moments later someone repeatedly yelled: “FBI! Open the door!”
Loud booms could be heard a few seconds apart as helicopters circled overhead.
The city of Lewiston and towns in Maine have been in lockdown as police pursue the suspect, who opened fire at a bowling alley and bar on Wednesday evening.
Authorities have said that a further 13 people were injured in the attack.
Card, who trained as a firearms instructor at a Maine US Army Reserve training facility, is considered to be "armed and dangerous".
The 40-year-old was committed to a mental health facility for two weeks in the summer of 2023, according to a police bulletin. It came after Card had reported "hearing voices and threats to shoot up" the military base.
An arrest warrant for eight counts of murder has been issued for Card. The counts against him are expected to grow as more victims are identified, Maine State Police Colonel William Ross said.
Mr Ross told a press conference on Thursday that police responded to a "very fast moving, very dangerous scene" on Wednesday evening shortly after 7pm ET (Thursday midnight BST).
He said that seven people were found dead at Just-In-Time Recreation, a bowling alley, and eight at Schemengees Bar and Grille Restaurant.
Maine State Police has urged the public to contact them if they have information on Card's whereabouts.
On Thursday, public schools, offices and a medical centre were closed, while people were told to stay off the streets in Lewiston.
The order was extended on Wednesday night from Lewiston to the town of Lisbon, around eight miles away, after authorities found a "vehicle of interest" nearby.
One man, who escaped the bowling alley after the gunman opened fire and identified himself only as Brandon, said he heard about 10 shots, thinking the first was a balloon popping.
"I had my back turned to the door. And as soon as I turned and saw it was not a balloon - he was holding a weapon - I just booked it," he said.
Brandon said he scrambled down the length of the alley, sliding into the pin area and climbing up to hide in the machinery. He was among a bus load of survivors who were driven to a school in the neighbouring city of Auburn to be reunited with family and friends.
"I was putting on my bowling shoes when when it started. I've been barefoot for five hours," he said.
The bowling alley released a statement saying "none of this seems real, but unfortunately it is".
Just-In-Time Recreation wrote on its Facebook page: "We are devastated for our community and our staff.
"We lost some amazing and whole hearted people from our bowling family and community last night.
"There are no words to fix this or make it better. We are praying for everyone who has been affected by this horrific tragedy. We love you all and hold you close in our hearts."
Wednesday's mass shooting is the latest in a list of 565 reported across the United States this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Nearly one in five US adults have had a family member killed by a gun, including homicides and suicides, according to a 2023 survey from KFF (formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation).
Around the same proportion of adults have been personally threatened with a gun, and one in six adults has witnessed an injury from a shooting, the survey found.
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