Maine mourns as it shelters-in-place from Lewiston to Lisbon
Miia Zellner, an artist originally from Central Massachusetts now living in Lewiston, Maine, places a heart-shaped poster on a tree in downtown Lewiston on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, to offer support for a community reeling from a mass shooting Wednesday. (Chris Van Buskirk/MediaNewsGroup/Boston Herald)
LEWISTON, Maine — Miia Zellner and Hunter Kissam realized something was wrong in their hometown when they heard sirens blaring outside their apartment.
A sign advises residents to stay home, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, following a mass shooting at a restaurant and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine. Police continue to search for the suspect. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Jess Paquette expresses her support for her city in the wake of Wednesday's mass shootings at a restaurant and bowling alley, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. Police continue their manhunt for the suspect. Authorities urged residents to lock themselves in their homes and schools announced closures on Thursday. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Chris Van Buskirk/Boston Herald
Law enforcement armed with long rifles stand at the entrance to Central Maine Medical Center on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, after a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills provides updates on a mass shooting during a press conference at Lewiston City Hall on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. (Chris Van Buskirk/Boston Herald)
Maine State Police Col. William Ross (center) provides an update on a mass shooting at Lewiston City Hall on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. Maine Gov. Janet Mills (left) and Maine Public Safety Department Commissioner Michael Sauschuck (right) stand next to Ross. (Chris Van Buskirk/MediaNewsGroup/Boston Herald)
Lewiston Police Chief David St. Pierre speaks during a press conference about the mass shooting on Oct. 26, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the shooting, Robert Card, who allegedly killed 18 people in two separate locations on Wednesday night. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images/TNS)
Police officers stop to question a driver at a roadblock, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lisbon, Maine, during a manhunt for the suspect of Wednesday's mass shootings. The shootings took place at a restaurant and bowling alley in nearby Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Maine Public Safety Department Commissioner Michael Sauschuck provides an update on a mass shooting during a press conference at Lewiston City Hall on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. Maine Gov. Janet Mills (left) and Lewiston Police Chief David St. Pierre (right) stand next to him. (Chris Van Buskirk/MediaNewsGroup/Boston Herald)
Chris Van Buskirk/Boston Herald
Law enforcement armed with long rifles stand at the entrance to the emergency department entrance of Central Maine Medical Center on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, after a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine.
Law enforcement armed with long rifles stand at the entrance to Central Maine Medical Center on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, after a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. (Chris Van Buskirk/MediaNewsGroup/Boston Herald)
A law enforcement officer carries a rifle outside Central Maine Medical Center during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
People depart an emergency department entrance at Central Maine Medical Center, past a member of security, behind right, during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
A passer-by walks past law enforcement officers carring rifles outside Central Maine Medical Center during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
“We didn’t think it was nearly as bad as it was,” Kissam told the Herald Thursday while he was walking down Lisbon Street, a main thoroughfare in downtown Lewiston. “We thought like, okay, somebody got mad at a bar and shot somebody or whatever. And then we heard a shooter. Then we saw headlines with active shooter, and we were not expecting it to be what it was.”
The shooting is the 36th mass killing in the United States this year, according to a database run by Northeastern University in Boston in conjunction with media outlets.
The horrific events that unfolded Wednesday rocked residents in Lewiston and across Maine, as other mass shootings have done with the seemingly never-ending list of cities and towns nationwide.
An artist by trade and originally from Central Massachusetts, Zellner decided Thursday to make heart-shaped cutouts from poster board adorned with phrases like “to my community” or “to my friends” to place on light posts throughout downtown Lewiston.
“I was feeling a lot of emotions about the whole thing this morning and it kind of manifested physically into this. I just wanted to show my support and love for the community and give people a visual representation of the type of support that people feel,” Zellner said in-between placing the heart cutouts onto street lights and trees.
Areas around Lewiston were nearly deserted Thursday as law enforcement maintained a shelter-in-place order for the city as well as the neighboring communities of Lisbon and Bowdoin.
Occasional dog walkers interspersed with people experiencing homelessness slowly meandered through a main park just across the street from City Hall. But the media nearly outnumbered the locals who were venturing into public spaces.
Businesses were largely shut down in Lewiston, with most gas stations, restaurants, and shops shuttered as law enforcement continued a massive manhunt for 40-year-old Robert Card, who they said is a suspect connected to the shootings.
Lisbon Street, where Zellner hung the heart-shaped posters, was nearly empty.
“It’s usually so much busier than right now,” she said, hoping her posters would help promote “some type of positive from this.”
At a press conference earlier Thursday, Maine Gov. Janet Mills said the shooting tore through the “peace of mind” of all residents in the state, but especially in Lewiston.
“This is a dark day for Maine. I know it’s hard for us to think about healing when our hearts are broken,” Mills said. “But I want every person in Maine to know that we will heal together. We are strong. We are resilient. We are a very caring people.”
