Overview

The 2023 Lewiston, Maine Mass Shooting refers to a mass shooting allegedly committed by Robert Card, a 41-year-old retired military officer, in the city of Lewiston, Maine on October 25th, 2023. While some initial reports indicated that there were over 20 deceased and 100 injured on the night of the shooting, officials said in a news briefing the following days that 18 people were killed and 13 were injured. The story quickly garnered nationwide press coverage and discourse online, reigniting the contentious gun control debate in the U.S. as news of the incident spread on social media over the following days.

Background

On October 25th, 2023, Maine police reported that several people had been shot by an unknown gunman.^[6] According to the information posted by the Maine police,^[1] the shooting incident first occurred at Schemengees Bar and Grille restaurant, with another incident occurring at Sparetime Recreation, which notably includes the bowling alley mentioned in the reports (shown below).

According to news outlets covering the incident, the suspect believed to be the shooter is 41-year-old man Robert Card, a retired military officer who is twice divorced and a father of three children, who also has a history of arrests for domestic violence and other crimes.^[7]

As of the morning of October 26th, 2023, Card was still at large. Police described him as "armed and dangerous" and noted that he recently underwent mental health treatment, according to a U.S. intelligence document,^[7] which mentioned that Card spent two weeks in a mental health facility during the summer. This document also reportedly revealed that Card had been "hearing voices" and had previously "threatened to carry out a shooting at a military training base in Saco, Maine."

Developments

False Reports of Capture

Shortly after Robert Card's name and picture were made public, false video footage claiming to be of the suspect being arrested started to spread online. For example, on October 25th, 2023, X user @brokendoor09^[2] uploaded footage that they claimed was the police arresting someone in connection to the shooting (shown below).

Other users on social media were wary of videos being posted showing a captured suspect. One such example on October 25th by X user @Cwebbonline^[3] reuploaded footage another X user posted that claimed to show the shooter being arrested, saying that the person being arrested did not match the offender. Later comments and statuses posted said that the initial shooter was still at large, which was confirmed via media coverage^[8] (shown below).

Online Reactions

Online reactions to the tragedy quickly spread on social media, with many takes being made about the assailant, his ability to own and maintain possession of a firearm and the violence itself being made while the suspect was still at large. Due to reports that he had a history of mental health issues and previously threatened to attack a base, X user @WandaRoe^[4] uploaded a political catchphrase meme on October 25th, 2023, that called upon Red Flag Laws to be able to stop people with red flags (like mental health) from obtaining weapons (shown below).

On October 25th, the official X account for the The Good Trouble Show with Matt Ford posted about the shooting taking place and uploaded a clip^[5] from its program about Americans loving guns more than children, which received backlash in the comments as people claimed it was too soon to begin pushing politics (shown below).

Search Interest

External References