As of Friday, October 27, 2023, the manhunt continues for a suspect accused of a mass shooting spree that encompassed two Lewiston, Maine establishments around 7:00 p.m. just two days prior: a local bar in which several people who were deaf were gathering, and a bowling alley that was in the process of hosting a children’s bowling league.
Eighteen lives were lost in this incident and 13 more innocent victims were injured. That makes this the worst mass killing in the state which also has one of the lowest homicide rates nationwide.
What Spurred This Attack?
One of the biggest questions being asked is what caused the at-large suspect to target these two locations and want to take so many lives. Some suggest that mental health may be a contributing factor as the suspect had been hospitalized for two weeks earlier in the year at a mental health facility.
Investigators report that they found a suicide note at the suspect’s home. Though it is unclear what the note said, they did reveal that it was addressed to the shooter’s son.
Identifying the Warning Signs of a Potential Active Shooter Incident
If there’s anything that we’ve learned from past active shooter events, it’s that many warning signs often exist. The suspect in this incident portrayed a few due to beginning to behave erratically, hearing voices, and making threats to “shoot up” the military training base in nearby Saco.
Learning and being able to identify these signs can help you stay alert to the potential that violence may occur. This is where active shooter survival training comes into play.
A.L.I.V.E. Offers Active Shooter Survival Training
A.L.I.V.E. Active Shooter Survival Training has helped others survive mass shooting incidents, such as when a gunman opened fire at the Jason Aldean outdoor concert in Las Vegas in 2017.
A.L.I.V.E. teaches you how to first recognize when violence may potentially occur, then provides a 5-step response that is critical for survival in these types of mass incidents. The five steps are simple to remember with the A.L.I.V.E. acronym—Assess, Leave, Impede, Violence, and Expose.
A.L.I.V.E. is offered online via a video-based active shooter survival course or it can be taken in person. In-person active shooter survival training is available in all 50 states, as well as a few international locations. A.L.I.V.E. also provides access to numerous resources designed to help you prepare for and survive active shooter incidents.Sources: AP News, WMTW ABC News, WBZ CBS News Boston
