Mourners gather to mark a year since Maine’s deadliest mass shooting

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Elizabeth Seal, whose husband Joshua was killed in the deadliest shooting in Maine history, told a crowd of mourners Friday that the tragedy that rocked their city a year ago also created a community that has only grown stronger with time.

“These connections, just like a spiderweb, are beautiful. I wish it didn’t take a tragedy for me to discover these connections,” Seal said through an American Sign Language interpreter, adding that the community would “forever be Lewiston strong.”

Seal made the remarks at a memorial service that drew more than 1,000 people to the city’s hockey arena The Colisée, where Maine residents whose sense of safety was shattered last year by the mass shooting marked the anniversary.

The killings of 18 people by an Army reservist in Lewiston drove home the stark reality that no corner of the country is safe from gun violence, including a state where people often boast of the low crime rate.

Mourners held two moments of silence during the ceremony Friday evening at the precise time the shootings took place at two separate locations.

At the event, some people clutched teddy bears handed out by the American Red Cross. At the front of the stage were 18 chairs, each with a blue heart containing a victim’s name, along with a candle and white flowers. Names of each victim were read aloud with an image projected onto video screens.

A local museum was collecting mementos and other items related to the tragedy. Among the items left behind was a single shoe from a survivor who lost the shoe’s mate on the night of the shooting. Other items included a pair of bowling shoes.

Earlier Friday, Arthur Barnard, the father of shooting victim Artie Strout, said it was a day of grieving for his family and others but also a day of action in the campaign for tougher risk protection orders in the state.

“Nothing can bring Artie back. But we can try to ensure no other family has to go through what mine has,” Barnard said in a statement.

The shootings on Oct. 25, 2023, happened at a bowling alley and a cornhole tournament hosted by a bar and grill. The shooter died by suicide, and his body was found two days later.

At the high school, which became a command post with helicopters using athletic fields and hundreds of police vehicles in the parking lot, students marked the anniversary with a moment of silence.

“We will never forget the unimaginable pain and loss that stems from that terrible day,” Superintendent Jake Langlais said in a statement. But, he added, “a lot of good has happened since that terrible day.”

Justin Juray, owner of the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley where the shooting began, said the venue was closed for the day Friday to let staff be with their families.

“We don’t need work to add to their stress,” he said. Juray and his wife, Samantha, reopened the bowling alley in May, six months after the shooting. Two staff members were among the eight people killed there.

The Associated Press streamed the ceremony live Friday night.

All told, more than 130 people were present at the two sites, according to the state’s director of victim services. In addition to the 18 killed, there were 13 wounded by gunfire and 20 non-shooting injuries.

Seal and dozens of other survivors and relatives of victims recently began the formal process of suing the U.S. Army for what they say was a failure to act to stop the 40-year-old reservist, Robert Card.

President Joe Biden tweeted that he and the first lady were sending “love and prayers” to those who experienced loss in Lewiston. “And I recommit to doing everything in my power to end the gun violence epidemic,” he said.

At the state level, the Maine Legislature responded to the shootings by passing new gun laws that bolstered the state’s “yellow flag” law, criminalized the transfer of guns to prohibited people and expanded funding for mental health crisis care.

___

Associated Press visual journalists Robert F. Bukaty, Rodrique Ngowi and Nick Perry contributed to this report.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.