Lewiston Shooter Kills at Least 4 Employees 

Lewiston, ME (WorkersCompensation.com) – At least four of the eight victims identified by police on Thursday evening in the mass shooting incident in Lewiston, Maine were employees shot while on the job.  

On Wednesday night, officials in Lewiston, Maine said at least 18 people were dead and another 13 were injured after a gunman opened fire first Just-In-Time Recreation, a bowling alley and then at Schemengees Bar and Grill, about four miles away.  

Officials are looking for Robert Card, a 40-year-old U.S. Army reservist is a suspect in the killing, the first in Maine and the 36th mass killing in the U.S. this year. A massive manhunt for Card began Wednesday night. According to Maine State Police Col. William Ross, Card is wanted on eight counts of murder. Ross said 10 of the victims remained unidentified as of Thursday afternoon, but that as they are identified, the charges against Card will likely grow.  

Auburn Mayor Jason Levesque said the shooting would affect the entire town.  

“There’s going to be very few people in this community that have not been touched by this,” he said. “The other folks that I knew that were there either as witnesses or family members of witnesses; it’s obviously traumatic. The bright spot was seeing individuals reunified with their loved ones after not knowing for so long, but on the other side, the ones that were waiting and waiting, probably would never be reunified.” 

Among the victims that have been identified, four were working at the shooting locations at the time.  

Tricia Asselin, 53, was working her part-time job at the bowling alley at Just-In-Time Recreation when the shooting started. DJ Johnson, Asselin’s brother, told CNN Asselin had run up to the counter to call 911 when she was shot.  

"When it all started happening, she ran up to the counter and started to call 911, and that's when she was shot," DJ Johnson told CNN. "That was just her. She wasn't going to run. She was going to try and help.”  

Thomas Gilberti, another victim, was the manager of Just-In-Time Recreation. He was shot after he charged the gunman, Kenny Moore, a survivor of the shooting told news outlets.  

Another Just-In-Time manager, Tommy Conrad, was also shot and killed by the gunman.  

WMTW identified another of the victims as Joseph Walker, a manager at Schemengees Bar. According to his father, Auburn City Councilor Leroy Walker, Walker was shat as he ran toward the gunman with a butcher knife.  

“He died as a hero,” he said. 

Officials said around 6:56 p.m., the Auburn Communication Center received calls that an unidentified man had walked in the bowling alley and begun shooting. About 20 minutes later, at 7:08 p.m., police received multiple calls that a man had entered Schemengees Bar and opened fire. Within an hour, police had released a photo of Card wearing a brown sweatshirt and holding a rifle while walking through doors of what appeared to be a bowling alley.  

Reports from Fox news Digital said that Card is a “trained firearms instructor.” According to the New York Times, the U.S. Army’s public affairs office said Card is a sergeant first class in the Army Reserve and he enlisted in December 2002. He was trained as a petroleum supply specialist, but that he had not served any combat deployments and was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiment in Saco, Maine.  

Police said they were also looking into an incident where Card had a run-in with officials during a visit to Camp Smith, a National Guard training facility near West Point. An official told the Times that Card was later evaluated at a mental health facility. A law enforcement official told CNN’s John Miller that Card made statements about hearing voices and having thoughts about wanting to hurt fellow soldiers. The statements got Card a referral to a military hospital where he spent a few weeks under evaluation.  

On Thursday, more than 350 law enforcement personnel from federal, state and local agencies descended on Lewiston, the second largest town in the state. Authorities said Card should be considered armed and dangerous, and cautioned residents to stay inside their homes and not to approach Card for any reason. School was canceled in the area and many businesses closed as well.  

Gov. Janet Milles said the state would help the victims of the shooting and the community.  

“I know that the people of Lewiston are enduring immeasurable pain,” Mills said in a press release on Thursday night. “I wish I could take that pain from you, but I promise you this, we will all help you carry this grief. I ask Maine people to join me in offering our comfort to the families and friends who have lost someone and in offering our prayers for a swift recovery to the people who are healing in Maine hospitals today.” 

The shooting nearly doubled the state’s usual murder rate. Maine averages only 22 to 29 murders per year, officials said.  

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