The officials were not authorised to publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
Lewiston Police said in an earlier Facebook post that they were dealing with an active shooter incident at Schemengees Bar and Grille and Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley.
The Lewiston Police Department has identified Robert Card as a person of interest.
Card is 40 years old and should be “considered armed and dangerous,” according to a Facebook post from the Lewiston Police Department.
The police intelligence bulletin, reviewed by The Associated Press, was being circulated to law enforcement officials on Wednesday night.
The bulletin says the man, Robert Card, had been trained as a firearms instructor at a US Army Reserve training facility in Maine. The document says Card had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks in the summer of 2023. It did not provide specific details about his treatment or condition.
The document also said Card had reported hearing voices and had threatened to carry out a shooting at the military training base in Saco, Maine.
Card was being sought by police as a person of interest in Wednesday’s shootings. A telephone number listed for Card in public records was not in service.
“Please stay off the roads to allow emergency responders access to the hospitals,” police said.
On its website, Central Maine Medical Center said staff were “reacting to a mass casualty, mass shooter event” and were coordinating with area hospitals to take in patients.
The alert for Lewiston was made shortly after 8 pm as the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office reported that law enforcement agencies were investigating “two active shooter events.”
“We are encouraging all businesses to lock down and or close while we investigate,” the sheriff’s office reported.
A spokesperson for Maine Department of Public Safety urged residents to stay in their homes with their doors locked.
“Law enforcement is currently investigating at two locations right now,” Shannon Moss said. “Again please stay off the streets and allow law enforcement to diffuse the situation.”
The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office released two photos of the suspect on its Facebook page that showed a gunman walking into an establishment with a weapon raised to his shoulder.
Gov. Janet Mills released a statement echoing those instructions. She said she has been briefed on the situation and will remain in close contact with public safety officials.
Ange Amores, a spokesperson for the city of Lewiston, said city officials are not commenting on the shooting. Amores said Maine State Police were planning to hold a news conference, likely at city hall, to update the public on Wednesday night.
Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent, said he was “deeply sad for the city of Lewiston and all those worried about their family, friends and neighbors” and was monitoring the situation. King’s office said the senator would be headed directly home to Maine once the Senate’s final vote is held Thursday afternoon.
