Police in Maine have launched a manhunt after two mass shootings on Wednesday night left at least 16 people dead and dozens injured, according to local law enforcement.
The two active shooting incidents occurred in the city of Lewiston, Maine, at a bowling alley called Sparetime Recreation and a restaurant called Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant.
The shootings began at around 6:56 p.m. EST, according to Lewiston police. Eyewitnesses shared that they saw people running from the bowling alley just before 7 p.m.
Police have identified a “person of interest” in the shootings, naming 40-year-old Robert Card of Bowdoin as the main suspect. The Lewiston Police Department says he should be “considered armed and dangerous.”
The department also released photos of the suspect carrying an assault-style rifle through the bowling alley in brown clothing.
Officials shared with CNN that Card is a certified firearms instructor and a member of the US Army Reserve.
An image of the vehicle the suspect is believed to be driving has also been released by the department. It is a small white SUV with a front bumper believed to be painted black.
Hundreds of officers are now working to locate Card, and the public is urged to contact law enforcement should they come across him. Residents are being told to shelter in place, an order first put into effect last night.
“We are expanding the shelter-in-place advisory and school closings to include the town of Bowdoin,” Maine State Police announced on Facebook. “Please stay inside your homes while more than 100 investigators, both local and federal work to locate Robert Card, who is a person of interest in the Lewiston shootings.”
Bowdoin is about 14 miles from Lewiston.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have now been 565 mass shootings in the United States this year. A mass shooting is defined by the nonprofit as a shooting in which four or more people are shot.