Officials lift shelter-in-place order as manhunt continues for suspect Robert Card: Maine shooting full coverage

4 deaf friends were killed during the Maine mass shootings

People reports:

"On Wednesday night, multiple friends — including members of the deaf community — gathered at Schemengees Bar and Grille in Lewiston, Maine, to play cornhole. Around 7 p.m., a gunman stormed in the restaurant and opened fire on innocent people for a second time that evening, killing seven people inside and one person outside, officials announced.

Seven other people were killed at Just-In-Time Recreation minutes before the shooting at Schemengees, and three victims died at the hospital, authorities say. In total, the gunman — who is still at large — killed 18 people and injured 13, Maine Governor Janet Mills confirmed. Authorities have identified 40-year-old Robert Card as a suspect in the shootings. He is still considered 'armed and dangerous,' Mills said.

Four of the people killed at Schemengees — Joshua Seal, Billy Brackett, Steve Vozzella and Bryan MacFarlane — were deaf, according to The Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MECDHH), and their untimely deaths have left the local deaf community reeling."

Maine officials lift shelter-in-place order as search for mass shooting suspect continues

Commissioner Mike Sauschuck speaks to members of the media during a press conference at Lewiston City Hall on Friday. (Erin Clark/Globe Staff via Getty Images)

The Associated Press reports:

"Maine officials have lifted a shelter-in-place order as the search for the suspect in the Lewiston mass shooting continues.

State Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck made the announcement Friday afternoon at a news conference in which he named all 18 victims of the mass shooting. All of the victims' families have been notified, officials said.

Sauschuck read the names aloud. Photos of those slain were posted on a board behind him. The reading was followed by a moment of silence."

Mike Sauschuck, Maine Department of Public Safety's commissioner, gives update at Friday afternoon presser

Commissioner Mike Sauschuck speaks to members of the media during a press conference at Lewiston City Hall on Friday. (Erin Clark/Globe Staff via Getty Images)

• All 18 victims identified with pictures

• Shelter in place has been rescinded, but hunting remain prohibited in four towns: Lewiston, Lisbon, Bowdoin and Monmouth

• People in the immediate search area should remain "vigilant"

• Dive search will continue Saturday

• Law enforcement has not seen suspect since shooting

• Police chief says he personally knows several of the victims

Deputy CDC Director shares one of Maine shooting victims was a friend: ‘He will be forever missed’

Deputy CDC Director Nirav D. Shah, who was tapped to lead the organization in January, shared Friday that one of the victims of Wednesday’s Lewiston mass shooting was a friend and colleague, Josh Seal.

“I marveled at his ability to interpret what we were saying at light speed—even my (awful) attempts at humor during dark days," Shah said in a series of posts on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. "He never missed a beat. He will be forever missed and always remembered as part of Maine’s history."

All 18 victims identified, but police have notified only 8 families

The Portland Press Herald reports:

"Maine officials have identified all 18 victims of Wednesday night's shooting in Lewiston, but police have notified families of only eight victims, according to information provided by authorities.

A spokesperson for the Maine chief medical examiner's office, the state body responsible for investigating violent deaths, said Friday around 1 p.m. that all 18 victims had been identified by Thursday afternoon and that police were given the names of all 18 victims at that time."

A boy cycles past "Lewiston strong" banners as the search for the suspect in the deadly mass shootings continues in Lewiston, Maine, on Friday. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Law enforcement could face these challenges in their hunt for the Lewiston shooting suspect

Law enforcement personnel searching for mass shooting suspect Robert Card, Oct. 27. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

CNN reports:

"Law enforcement agencies have descended upon southern Maine to search for a man accused of killing 18 people in a mass shooting Wednesday, and there are several aspects to his background that could make the effort to find him both challenging and dangerous, experts told CNN.

The search for Robert Card, 40, began after two shootings were reported at a restaurant and a bowling alley just 4 miles apart in Lewiston, Maine’s second-largest city, about 40 miles north of Portland. He now faces an arrest warrant for eight counts of murder, a figure that will rise as more victims are identified, officials said.

In the meantime, authorities continue their search. But they could face several challenges as they race to find Card, law enforcement experts said, namely his training as a marksman and US Army reservist, his purported skill as an outdoorsman and the planning he seems to have done prior to his alleged attack."

Doctor describes 'devastating injuries' from Maine shooting rampage

A law enforcement officer outside the Central Maine Medical Center during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Oct. 25, 2023. (Steven Senne/AP)

CBS News reports:

"A doctor whose team is treating victims of Wednesday's mass shooting in Maine described the destructive nature of the bullets used in the rampage, saying that seeing their impact was 'sobering.'

'This was the first time that I'd actually taken care of someone with high-velocity gunshot wounds,' Dr. Richard King, chief of trauma at Central Maine Medical Center, told CBS News on Friday. 'I'd read about them ... but to actually see them in person and see the destructive ability of those rounds was really quite sobering.'

'Most, if not all, of our patients had at least one of those really severe wounds,' he said. 'Absolutely destructive. Complete destruction of the surrounding tissue is really, really quite something.'"

Father and son among Maine shooting victims publicly identified

Shooting victim Bill Young. (via Facebook)

Bill Young, 44, and his 14-year-old son, Aaron, were out for an evening of bowling at the Just-In-Time bowling center when they were killed in Wednesday night’s mass shooting, Reuters reported.

Bill’s brother, Rob Young, told the Los Angeles Times that it wasn’t until around 1 p.m. on Thursday that the Young family learned from Maine State Police that Bill and Aaron had been fatally shot. Rob, who spoke to officers on behalf of Bill’s wife, expressed anger over how long it took to find out about his loved ones’ fate.

Rob said that Bill’s kids were “the most important thing to him,” adding that Bill had his daughter’s name tattooed on his forearm. He described his nephew Aaron as a smart kid who wanted to be just like his dad.

“They were both the apple of each other’s eyes," Rob told the Los Angeles Times.

40 hours after shooting, police say 8 of 18 families notified

The Portland Press Herald reports:

"Nearly 40 hours after a mass shooting killed 18 people in Lewiston, police have identified only eight of the victims and notified family, leaving others distraught and wondering about their loved ones.

Maine Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck at a 10 a.m. briefing Friday morning confirmed that only eight victims have been identified and families notified. Sauschuck refused to answer further questions about the victims, saying that would be addressed at a 'specific session' at another time. He did not say when that session would be.

Many of those who now have information about their family members and friends waited long hours just to hear the worst."